


The Return of Ben Solo

by Jodesville



Series: The Dyad Trilogy [1]
Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Rise of Kylo Ren (Comics)
Genre: Angst and Fluff and Smut, Dark Rey (Star Wars), Dark Reylo, F/M, Finn masturbating, Force Bond (Star Wars), Force Choking (Star Wars), Horny Finn, Jealous Finn, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Orgasm enhanced force connections, Post-Canon Fix-It, Post-Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Predatory Sexual Menace, Redeemed Ben Solo, Reylo - Freeform, Soft Ben Solo, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Fix-It, The Dark Side of the Force, Virgin Ben Solo, Virgin Rey (Star Wars)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-10
Updated: 2020-03-10
Packaged: 2021-02-27 21:13:21
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 25,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22762246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jodesville/pseuds/Jodesville
Summary: Rey has collapsed, her body completely spent from defeating Palpatine. Ben is distraught and will do whatever it takes to bring back his scavenger ... even if it means his own demise.She is all that matters to him now and his very existence is pointless without her.This, the first installment of my Dyad Trilogy, sees Ben miraculously return after he faded from Rey on Exegol. Still seen as a villain, he has to fight to stay alive so he can be with Rey once more.Secrets, lies and sexual mishaps abound!
Relationships: Finn & Rey (Star Wars), Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey & Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Rey / Dodgy character from Tatooine called Gart
Series: The Dyad Trilogy [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1803250
Comments: 71
Kudos: 144





	1. Exile from Exegol

**Author's Note:**

> My main objectives in writing this short story were to continue the latest Star Wars trilogy by tying events from the end of TRoS into the opening chapters. I also wanted to bring Ben back and give him a proper opportunity for redemption. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy reading it!  
> Your kind comments and kudos are always welcome 😊
> 
> PS If you are purely searching out smut, fair play to you. I have scattered some through the story but for the hard core stuff, please check out Chapter 16 (about half way down)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter follows Ben's journey through the World Between Worlds with Leia following that fateful kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have tried to imagine what may have happened to Ben after he faded from Rey. 
> 
> This is what my mind invented to make sense of things ...

**Chapter 1: Exile from Exegol**

An overwhelming sense of dread weighed down on his already spent muscles as Ben dragged himself towards Rey, she was lying still … too still.

The air felt thick with static energy as he fell to the ground and crawled the final distance before kneeling over her supine figure. As he turned her over to face him lightening flashed, offering a glimpse of her perfect features in its brilliance. She reminded him of an exquisitely beautiful marionette with nobody at the strings - eyes wide open, vacant and unseeing.

_No, you can't leave me here alone!_

He scooped her into his arms but she was a dead weight, completely limp and lifeless as he held her against him in a desperate embrace. Hopelessness now engulfed him as Ben realised he would do anything to bring her back - personal price failed to spark any relevance when compared to the beautiful human sprawled lifelessly before him.

The vast, crumbling throne room was quiet as a long forgotten tomb, all the chaos and fighting outside somehow failed to penetrate this evil space. The legion of power-thirsty leeches that formed the Sith Cult had disappeared along with Palpatine, leaving him alone with Rey.

How had she finally managed to defeat Palpatine when he'd so completely overpowered them both and drained their dyad force? She amazed Ben and not for the first time, he'd never met anyone with such inate ability to command the force and she lacked the many years of training that he had benefitted from.

Ben sat there stunned and tears began to pool in his eyes as he remembered how, with inexplicable insight and instinct she had countered his every attempt to dominate or destroy her with effortless ease. Her strength of conviction had absolutely frustrated his every endeavour to seduce her to the dark side and Rey alone saw straight through his facade of Kylo Ren. But what Ben really couldn't fathom was how, despite all the misguided and inexcusable deeds he'd done and all the people he'd hurt in his quest for domination, she had never stopped believing in him. She had saved his life and brought him back from the brink of self-destruction. 

_There had to be something he could do?_

He lowered her with one arm and laid a shaky hand on her torso while focussing his mind, then he proceeded to push every remaining ounce of force strength he had left into her. As his Force Energy flowed into Rey, it tingled through his arm and made his hand vibrate slightly. This reassuring sensation was twinned however, with a deadly chill which began to bloom in every single cell of his body, it's cold fingers spreading through him from the inside out. His already depleted life force was ebbing away but he didn't care, she had to live or it just wasn't worth existing!

As Ben approached the edge of his body's final limitations, he felt a slight thrum of echoed reverberation under his hand. Could this mean she's returning and his seemingly futile attempt was actually paying off???

His peripheral vision noted a slight movement of her chest and just as he wondered if he'd imagined this, her hand found his and rested upon it. His heart leapt as her eyes blinked and her mouth sucked in the charged air. She fixed her gaze upon Ben as if scared he would disappear if she averted it and then she sat up, looking thoughtful as she took in what had just happened.

She seemed to be looking into his very soul. Her hand reached up and caressed his face, his skin now tingling where her fingertips lingered as those eyes that had so beguiled him now flickered with something totally unfamiliar to Ben. _Was he dreaming this?_ Her loving intent was now undeniably apparent as she drew herself towards him and pressed her soft lips to his!

****

_The girl he's been so utterly drawn to and transfixed upon was now kissing him!!!_

His whole body responded with desire as his mind struggled to believe this was actually happening. Her lips, still pressed up to his, parted slightly to allow her tongue to slip inside his mouth. This sudden act of passion took Ben by surprise, he laughed silently to himself.

_So that's what you want, brazen wreckage rat!_

That tongue that had put him in his place on numerous occasions now felt so good, he needed more! He reciprocated eagerly, pushing his own tongue past hers and all around the inside of her.

The very mouth that had previously infuriated and confounded him with it's self-confident insolence and defiance (the likes of which he really hadn't been accustomed to in a sea of fearful sycophants and devious silver-tongued despots) was now issuing quiet moaning sounds to further fuel his excitement.

With senses heightened in ecstasy, he explored her mouth some more. She tasted a little salty from exertion but there was also a unique sweetness, a recipe of perfection to his hungry palate. He drew in her scent with a deep breath, a vast improvement on the surrounding sour stench of dead Sith it made him heady with lust and longing. He wanted to live in her smell, to smell it every time he breathed! 

His arms pulled her tightly against him until he could feel the slight heave of her quickened breaths. She was immensely strong for her size but right now she felt like a small creature in his embrace, relaxed in surrender to his attentions and he never wanted to let her go!

But this newfound joy that had taken him a lifetime to discover was fleeting and agonisingly brief. The cold that had started to take hold failed to be quashed by the heat of their passion and could no longer be ignored. It was almost as if forces he couldn't comprehend were at play and didn't want him to remain in this place. 

Before it could consume him any further, Ben pulled away to look once more into the eyes of the new owner of his tarnished heart. He couldn't help but smile at her in this brief moment of victory and union before icy fingers reached up into his mind, painfully probing and eager to quickly steal him from his body.

He reluctantly closed his eyes on the vision of Rey's concerned and disbelieving features, she was mouthing words that he could no longer hear. The last things he felt were her hands gripping his tightly as she now realised what was happening to him.

Ben's final thoughts as he slumped to the ground were primarily of relief; the lifeless body he had found was once again inhabited by it's captivating mistress. However, as a wall of fog engulfed Ben and he began drifting away from her, that relief became tinged with fear, longing and regret. 

_I will have no opportunity to prove my love and gratitude to Rey for always believing in me. No chance to move on from my eternal struggle with dark undercurrents and no chance to ever make amends with all those I have wronged!_

“No, I belong here, let me stay!!!” he screamed in his mind for, at this point, his voice was lost to him. A numbness enveloped him until he wasn’t even sure if he was still attached to anything physical.

* * *

Ben floated in a fog of nothingness, at least he thought he was floating - it was hard to tell without any senses to guide him.

After what seemed like an eternity, a voice reverberated in his mind;

“Ben”.

The voice which broke through the fog was familiar and flooded him with memories of a very distant time in his life. A time before fearful powers had awoken, before feelings of isolation and abandonment had spawned the hate and vengeance which dominated his thoughts. A joyful time before the darkness and paranoia had crept in to surreptitiously consume him from within.

" I am sorry to have brought you here but if I'd left you on Exegol you would have died".

“Mom?” he spoke with his mind.

Everything looked dim and hazy in this place but he could just about make out a glowing figure at his side that looked like General Leia Organa. He realised that they were floating along a narrow pathway in a terrifyingly endless tunnel of darkness. The path was intercepted by occasional branches which went off in every direction towards distant sources of light in various hues. Leia seemed to be pulling him along with an air of urgency.

“Yes Ben it’s me, I need you to listen to me there isn’t much time” she replied. 

"I am so sorry-” began Ben.

Ben realised his sense of touch had returned as he felt her hand softly stroke his cheek, she smiled lovingly at him "I know that Ben, and I understand why you became Kylo Ren and did all those terrible things, but I feel a change within you and that gives me new hope" she explained taking his hand into her own once more, it thrummed with warmth.

“What do you mean ... and what is this place?” asked Ben who was now conflicted with feelings of love, anguish and confusion.

“This is the world between worlds. The energy fields are strong on Exegol and they enabled me to come to you and bring you here before you died” Leia explained. “If my calculations are correct I hope I can return you to the living world but you will need to distance yourself from Rey".

Ben twisted round to face his mother and was about to protest when she held up a hand in a halting gesture and continued with an explanation "the Dyad Force you both share is extremely powerful and potentially dangerous! I sense a new light within your force but there is still a strong temptation for you both to stray towards the dark side.”

"No, you can trust me now and Rey-” started Ben.

“I have felt Rey stray to the dark side too, it’s pull is stronger than she can ever understand” said Leia. Ben knew all too well how strong that pull could be, but he also felt more than ever that he needed to be with her now. Surely he could protect her from the darkness???

Leia, sensing his thoughts, told him “I know you will be tempted to reach out to her but you must stay apart until you can embrace the Jedi force completely and unlearn all the teachings of the Sith, only then will you both be safe. I am taking you to a far away place so you can train, reflect and meditate alone”.

Ben knew now, nothing he could possibly say would change her mind so he resigned himself to his new fate. Leia stopped them both and peered around before pulling them both down one of the branches leading towards a green glow, he was amazed at how quickly they approached this strange light, Ben wanted to shield his eyes but even the simple action of lifting his arm seemed to require alot of effort.

“Ok, now we are almost there, make us all proud Ben and may the Jedi Force always live inside you ...”

"Surely you can come through with me?" Ben asked as he realised these were words of goodbye. "Between us we only had enough life force to send one of us back" Leia told him as it dawned on Ben that his chill had gradually dispelled under the touch of her hand.

_She was sacrificing the last slivers of her own life force for him!_

Ben' spirits sank as he noted Leia was looking a little more faded than when they'd first met. She went quiet and Ben sensed she needed all her remaining energy now to push him back out from this no man's land. He marvelled at her power and inexplicable knowledge of this completely alien place.

“I love you” he blurted, awash with conflicting feelings of pride, adoration and sorrow. There was so much more he wanted to say but a sudden feeling of unbearable acceleration cut him short.

Smells, light and new sensations suddenly flooded his mind and before he could say any more to Leia, she was gone and his body now felt like a lead weight. A split second later he was plunged into water!

In shocked surprise he gasped and flailed, but thankfully the water was shallow, so he steadied his feet and stood up shakily. Then, blinking the dank smelling water out of his eyes, he took in his surroundings...


	2. Dyad Division

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter follows Rey's story from the point just after the kiss and ends in a cascade of water.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SMUT WARNING: This chapter introduces an interesting theory on enhanced Force Connections.

**Chapter 2: Dyad Division**

Ben had just faded before Rey's disbelieving eyes. She could still feel a tingling warmth emanating from where he'd laid his hand on her, mere moments ago. She sat there, feeling shell-shocked and totally numb, still clinging on to the bittersweet memory of their final time together.

The look of love, concern and relief in his eyes when she awoke and the selfless enormity of what he had just done for her had released a pent up passion, like the breaking of an overfilled dam. She had been helpless to deny the compulsion to lean forward and press her lips to his, and Ben's ardent reciprocation and his powerful arms around her had felt like some sort of completion, like she was home.

_... and now he is gone_

Sitting there - alone once more, she could feel the grief welling up inside her, he must have known the price he would have to pay to bring her back? Their force energy had been almost entirely drained fighting Palpatine. She had, of course, foreseen Ben's return after touching Kylo Ren’s hand on Ahch-To, but she never saw this coming! The only small comfort she could try to take from this was the hope that Ben might finally be reunited with his parents.

_The Dyad that had drawn them together and felt so right, was now gone forever_

The ground shook intermittently as if the planet was being pelted with heavy objects ... _spacecrafts!!??_ Unable to move, Rey slumped down on the spot where Ben had laid before allowing exhaustion to close her eyes and draw a black curtain on her consciousness.

***

Rey's eyes opened and focussed on the hauntingly empty throne, even now she could feel it beckoning to her. She shuddered to think how easily she could have inherited this vile seat of power.

A weary ache seeped into every part of her body as she pulled herself up slowly and placed both lightsabers in her belt. It was going to take all of her will power to suppress her memories so she could focus on getting out of this toxic place. Part of her would happily stay here forever if there was any chance of Ben returning but deep down she knew this wasn't going to happen.

She arose and took her first steps, feeling lightheaded and disconnected from reality, perhaps this is all just a really bad dream?

Emerging from the Citadel, her heart was now barren and desolate as the indigo wasteland that stretched out before her. As she stepped wearily towards the X-Wing, picking her way carefully through smouldering battle debris, her nose was assaulted by the smell of smoke and destruction. She tried not to look at the fallen resistance crafts that mingled with smashed-up Sith vessels, her friends could well be amongst the wreckage. She didn't think her heart could take any more loss right now.

Hardwired instincts told her this depressing graveyard held rich pickings for a junk trader but all she could think of were the innumerable bodies of those who died needlessly and before their time. An almighty battle seemed to have run its course out here and she hoped they would never need to fight in a war on this scale ... ever again!

She squinted up into the stormy sky for signs of the Millennium Falcon or any other familiar shapes but there were now just a small number of spacecrafts, most of which were leaving Exegol. A few dozen remained to shepherd the remaining Sith fighters to land somewhere beyond the horizon to her right.

_I must have been unconscious for hours!_

Clambering aboard the trusty Red Five X-Wing, she lowered herself into the cockpit. Occasional flashes of lightening lit up the control panel in blue brilliance as she gratefully sank down into the pilot’s seat. She breathed deeply to steady her emotions and donned her helmet before negotiating her way up and out, dodging the electrical charges that streaked down around her, impatient to put this place behind her.

As the spacecraft hurtled at lightspeed towards the Resistance Base, she tried in vain to reach out to Ben but, as she suspected, the thrum of energy that usually vibrated through her whole body when she sensed him was now totally absent. Even when they'd attempted to hide from each other, there was still a faint push/pull energy but this time he truly was gone. 

_The force ghosts had helped Rey but then left Ben to die - why???_

At length, Ajan Kloss loomed into view, its lush vegetation dotted with lights. Her spirits lifted somewhat seeing her friends safe and celebrating their victory down below. She landed and steered the X-Wing under some nets then climbed out to a very warm welcome. As she descended, she felt a blanket of hot humid air envelope her oppressively before she was greeted by hugs and cheers from the landing crew.

_Little do they know I would not be here, were it not for Ben_

They may never truly understand how pivotal he had been in this fight, without him at her side things could have gone very differently. Rey left the landing area and as she approached the base camp the sound of happy voices rose up to challenge the usual din of the surrounding forests.

Then she caught sight of her friends and headed towards them, Finn saw her first and rushed up to her with arms outstretched and relief lighting his face "Am I glad to see you Rey, a search party had been sent to find you and we were starting to think you hadn't survived!" He hugged her tightly (perhaps a little too tightly given the tropical conditions) before adding "I still can't believe how you just merrily sailed off to get that Wayfinder!”

“Well it's a good job she did or we wouldn't have been able to smash those Sith out of the sky, I'd say you earned yourself a whole rack of Alderaan Twists!” declared Poe strolling up with a huge grin.

“You should have seen us destroying the flagship, it was a pretty close escape, but how about you Rey, did you really go and face Palpatine alone?” asked Finn. “Not exactly, I had help” said Rey hesitantly, knowing this would raise questions. Finn and Poe looked quizzically at Rey but just at that moment some more of her friends rushed up to her.

Rey knelt down to BB8 and couldn’t help smiling broadly at the pluckly little droid. “You are a sight for sore eyes!” D-0 was wheeling round and round Rey, making her giggle "You had us worried Rey" he stuttered before nestling up against her leg. BB8 communicated that Rey had some catching up to do with the celebrations. “You're right buddy, lead me to the food - I'm famished!"

Chewbacca had joined them but was looking a bit subdued, he yowled that Leia is at one with Force now “I know, I felt her go and I miss her too” she told him stroking his arm to comfort him. She noticed a new adornment hanging around his neck, a medal glinted amidst the fur on his chest "nice medal Chewie" she said. Chewbacca roared that it he would rather Han was still here to wear it.

Just then Lando strode up and, forcing a smile he squeezed her shoulder “So glad you're ok, please tell me you managed to destroy Kylo Ren? The Resistance are detaining the surviving Sith fighters and will be putting them through a rigorous re-education program but the last thing we need now is him plotting to free them” he enquired hopefully. “I don’t think you’ll ever need to worry about him again” was all she could manage as a reply. “Leia would have been so proud of your bravery and Jedi Spirit” he said affectionately before rushing off to join Chewbacca in a game of Correlian Spike.

Rey celebrated, ate and drank with her friends, swapping stories with many of them (whilst keeping quiet about Ben) before eventually retiring to her quarters for a long needed rest. Before she got into bed she securely wrapped the Skywalker lightsabers, wondering what she would do with them. She placed the parcel in a small chest then dragged herself wearily into bed, quickly slipping into a deep dreamless sleep.

When Rey awoke several hours later she felt a little better but her mouth was dry as a desert moon and her body was completely drenched in sweat. Dappled sunlight slanted through a small window high in the wall and cast a dancing array of shapes onto her bunk. Recent memories pushed their way back up.

_No Han, no Leia, no Luke and worst of all no Ben_

Having spent so much of her life without a family, Rey was surprised how empty she felt now. She was a “nothing” once more. She got up and dressed, her clothes felt dirty and clingy. She needed a wash before changing into any clean clothes but when she approached the onsite washrooms there was a bit of a queue forming. 

Then she remembered she'd overheard the ground crew talking about a waterfall out beyond the cargo area so she decided to see if she could find it. She set off, passing C3PO on her way out towards the cargo area “just off for some supplies” she announced (not wanting anyone to know what she was really doing). "OK Miss Rey, I will relay that information should anybody ask your whereabouts" he said.

Most of the others were either queueing for the bathrooms, asleep or still talking/playing. There was an air of peace and calm about the place which made a refreshing change from all the mayhem. Once she reached the back of the cargo stores, Rey recalled the directions she'd heard and followed a stream up into the trees.

She was used to extreme heat. After all, she had spent most of her life scouring the arid plains of Jakku for spare parts and scrap metal but this heat is different, the humidity was almost unbearable! As Rey carefully picked her way through the foliage alongside the water she heard a whooshing sound which got louder until she stepped out of the trees into a large clearing.

She was standing at the edge of a pool of crystal clear water, surrounded by boulders and plants. At the opposite side of the water a waterfall poured down from a steep wall of plant-stewn rock. This place was an exquisite little oasis and she had it all to herself! 

She knelt down and removed her right boot so she could dip her foot into the water. The water wasn’t cold but it was cooler than the thick damp air that hung around her, cool enough to tempt her in. She hastily pulled off the other boot and left them with her belt and holster before jumping fully clothed into the water.

_Aaaah, sweet bliss_

After languidly floating for a while, her spread-eagled body gently undulating on the water’s surface, Rey swam towards the waterfall leaving all her aches behind. Gripped in a moment of reckless spontaneity, she pulled the rest of her clothes off and draped them over a nearby branch.

She then pulled herself up onto a flat outcropping of stone and reclined towards the cascading water. It splashed her skin and rivulets flowed over her body, following every curve until it pooled around her and trickled down the stone into the pool below. Time passed in a daze and Rey was in no rush to leave this place but decided she ought to finish washing and dress before the others got up. 

***

At that very moment Finn was walking along the stream behind the cargo area, planning to have a quick dip before meeting the others to discuss ongoing peace-keeping plans. He reached the clearing and stopped abruptly when he saw Rey. He was rooted to the spot, not wanting to bring attention to himself and still partially hidden by plants. He shrouded his force as best he could to avoid detection.

***

Unaware she was no longer alone, her hands moved along her legs, washing off the grime of her recent adventures. She moved onto her torso, her hands now lingering as she recalled the way Ben had looked at her before they kissed, how she wished his ungloved war-ravaged hands could have explored her body before he was taken from her. She gently cupped a bare breast and gasped with pleasure at the thought of him touching her. 

***

Finn was feeling guilty for watching but also becoming increasingly aroused at the sight of his beautiful unclothed friend. As he felt a firmness growing within his trousers he touched his hardened shaft, wondering who Rey was thinking about – could it be him?

***

Rey moved her hand down between her thighs, now frantic with desire. She imagined Ben's large dark eyes gazing down upon her as her fingers slipped into the intimate space within. She stroked her inner walls tenderly, pushing her fingers in and out while remembering the feel of his tongue probing her mouth. Her finger touched a very tender spot at her entrance causing her to jerk with pleasure. She had never felt this excited and despite the risk of being seen, she just couldn't stop herself. Her finger played on the sensitive spot it had found and she arched and writhed on the stone rhythmically, her eyes rolled back in blissful ecstasy.

Her longing for Ben in this moment was so intense, it caused her to throw out a huge and unintentional force connection. Unlike her previous attempt at force connecting to Ben, this time a familiar feeling of surging energy surrounded her and a stillness fell. Not sure how this could be happening she guessed it was merely down to her state of heightened sensitivity and continued to seek him in the throes of her pleasure.

As she imagined Ben kissing and touching her, the waves of pleasure rolled towards a final blissful crescendo. Her first ever climax was so unexpectedly intense she felt like she was floating in clouds of pleasure, completely beside herself she called out "ooh yes, that's it, aaaah, Ben!" Filled with pleasure and release and feeling like she could melt with happiness, Rey opened her eyes once more and what she saw next felt like a thunderbolt to her heart.

“Ben!!??” she exclaimed.

_***_

Unable to control his desire for Rey, Finn had meanwhile given in to his urges and with one hand down his pants was gripping and stroking himself vigorously. She looked glorious up there and boy was she going for it! She even appeared to be mouthing a name over and over but it's sound got lost in the roar of water ... could it be Finn's name? He couldn't take this any more, if she wants a piece of Finn well she is going to get some of him, all of him!!! His penis was throbbing and now so hard that his pants felt painfully tight. He started to unbutton his shirt with shaky fingers when she shouted out.

"Ben!!!"

Wait, that didn't sound like Finn. Ben? Ben??? Did she mean Kylo Ren!!??? Finn stopped in his tracks and took a couple of steps back, the excitement at the prospect of slipping his cock inside his beautiful friend swiftly turning to confusion, fear and disbelief.


	3. The Back of Beyond

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter goes back to Ben who discovers where he has been sent and ends at the waterfall connection mentioned at the end of chapter two.

**Chapter 3: The Back of Beyond**

Standing in the middle of a dark murky swamp, Ben turned and scanned the scenery in horror. A curtain of fog hung around a forest of ancient looking trees strewn thickly with vines. His ears were assaulted by a deafening cacophony of strange noises. This din was occasionally punctuated by a sudden burst of gas spewing up from the numerous swamps situated amongst the trees.

Recognition crept into his mind like an unwelcome guest. Not wanting to believe what he was seeing, Ben looked up and studied the visible star constellations. His suspicions were confirmed, he was in the furthest reaches of the galaxy. 

_Dagobah!!! Why Dagobah of all places?_

He waded to the water’s edge and climbed out onto some slimy rocks. 

He had until now, managed to bury the painful memories of his brief time on Dagobah with Snoke. As part of his training and a twisted rite of passage (taken by many before him, including his uncle Luke), he had been told he must enter a cave filled with Dark Force Energy. This would, according to Snoke, allow him to let go of his weaknesses and fully embrace the dark side. 

Upon entering the cave, his first challenge had been to slay a vision of Luke which he duly did. Another vision then appeared to him, this time it was his parents. Ben knew what was required of him but he just couldn’t bring himself to kill them, even if it was just a vision reflected to him by his own mind. After much mental wrangling Ben had lashed out against the dark spirit in the cave rather than concede to Snoke's orders, believing that Snoke would, for the time being, be oblivious to what had really happened. Even though his actions that day had broken the ancient curse of the cave, he could still feel its malevolence lurking somewhere beyond the fog.

“I can not stay in this infernal place!!!” he shouted bitterly. 

Ben sat down on a moss covered log and put his hands to his temples. Perhaps Leia didn’t know about this part of his life as Kylo Ren? Or perhaps this is yet another kind of test? Only this time to see if he is strong enough to resist the innate dark force which forms an integral part of this planet’s fabric. 

He broke from his thoughts long enough to realise he was dripping wet and shivering, the water smelled fetid and there was a cloud of bugs circling above his head. 

_Was there possibly any worse place in the whole galaxy to be banished to?_

He was without transport and completely alone in a remote star system. Even Dagobah itself, the only inhabitable planet out here, was rarely visited. This whole place was somehow shielded and shrouded from the rest of the galaxy, making it the ultimate hideout. His only hope of rescue rested on his connection with Rey but it would be nion impossible to break through the surrounding force fields and besides his mother had forbidden it.

Before even attempting to engage Rey in a force connection, Ben knew he must firstly relearn all Luke’s teachings in order to fully embrace his Light Jedi Force and completely eschew his Dark Side Powers for good. After all he had done wrong in his life, he really hoped he would find the strength to see this through but the the urge to connect with Rey was strong.

He certainly couldn’t resist her as Kylo Ren, and then came that kiss ... how she felt so close to him had stirred up a furious passion in him. Such feelings of irresistible desire for someone had not at all figured in his psyche until he met Rey. He knew he'd had to have her now and waiting any length of time to get back to her was going to be the ultimate test.

What would the resistance do with him though? After many years of disconnect from their cause, Ben felt no affiliation with the resistance but perhaps if they could ever forgive and accept him into their ranks he may learn to feel part of something once again. Rey had certainty seemed to care for his parents and their comrades in a way he never could and he now deemed her judgement in this matter to be sound.

Breaking from his reveries, Ben started to plan where he might live and train until there was some sign Leia's request had been fulfilled. Hopefully then, he and Rey will be able to harness their Dyad Force and use it to maintain peace and order.

_... whilst doing a whole lot more touching and kissing._

“OK, focus Ben – you can do this” he told himself. He got up and searched for Yoda's old dwelling (an old tree cave which he had discovered during his previous visit) which he soon located nearby. 

****

Inside he found some basic tools and blankets and a cooking pot. He started a fire to dry his clothes and foraged some edible roots to make a drink with. He then made a soft mossy bed, took off his wet clothes and wrapped a blanket around his muscular frame. He sat and sipped his disgusting brew, his face wrinkled in disgust.

Eager to get his training done in the quickest possible time, he finished his drink and sat cross legged, closing his eyes and focussing his breathing. He meditated just as Luke had taught him. But just as he began to feel at one with his surroundings and prepared to journey towards enlightenment, a familiar vibrating sensation crept in as an eerie wall of silence dropped. 

Caught off totally offguard and unprepared for this mysterious and miraculous force connection, he hastily tried to block himself from the force to respect his mum’s wishes but he was a little slow to respond and what he saw through the connection totally threw him. 

He saw Rey ... **all** of her ... writhing up and down in a cascade of water with her hand between her legs ... and she was calling out his name!!


	4. Faraway, So Close

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter Rey and Ben meet at the waterfall and discuss what they will do next.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had alot of fun with this chapter and added just a little steam to keep you going.
> 
> I love your comments, please keep 'em coming x
> 
> Additional note  
> I feel that the song "You're Not Alone" by Olive reflects this chapter well.

**Chapter 4: Faraway, So Close**

Ben was sitting a just a short distance away with nothing more than a sand coloured blanket draped over his broad, muscular frame.

Seeing him sent her heart soaring and judging by the enormous smile which lit up his face, he felt the same way too. His expression was a mixture of joy and surprise but there was also an appreciative quality to his gaze that reminded her she was completely naked!

After taking a few seconds to gather himself, Ben quipped “... and you had the nerve to tell me to wear a cowl???”

“I thought you’d died, I didn’t think I’d ever see you again!” Rey explained with an air of defiance. 

Rey stood up and reached for her clothes but as she fumbled awkwardly with her capelet, Ben stood up and took a few swift steps towards her.

He was now standing next to her on the stone and it became quite apparent that the blanket barely covered him. There were gaps where the it didn’t quite meet and Rey's eyes were drawn downwards. Her gaze followed the valley at the centre of his broad chest, over taut undulating stomach muscles before finally resting for a brief moment on that part of a man she had never seen before.

He tenderly placed a hand beneath her chin and tilted her face up to his. She swallowed, a rush of heat rested on her cheeks and her heart was racing. A light danced in the dark pools of Ben’s eyes “and yet here I am, you put out a very powerful force connection for someone you thought dead and gone” he was taking delight in teasing her.

Suddenly struck by the realisation that she may be seen here unclothed by a member of the Resistance at any moment, Rey reluctantly drew away from Ben and continued to wrap herself. 

For the first time since he had appeared to her, Ben tore his eyes away from Rey to cast a look around him, he was trying to ascertain her location “So where are you, I don’t recognise this place?” he asked. “It’s the location of our latest Resistance Fleet Base” was her brief response. Why was she being cagey about giving him the name of the planet. Surely she could trust him now, after all he saved her life! This is Ben she's talking to, not Kylo Ren!!!

She continued “It’s on a jungle moon called Ajan Kloss which orbits a planet called Ajara in the Cademimu Sector. A shadow seemed to cast itself across his dark, soft features. He looked conflicted about something. 

Before he could speak, a crashing sound came from the far side of the pool and what looked like a retreating figure disappearing into the trees. In a split second Ben had twisted round and shot a powerful arm out towards the figure, even just wearing a blanket he looked terrifyingly formidable and filled with deadly intent.

Rey, thinking quickly, guessed that whoever had happened upon them would not have been able to see Ben and that harming them (apart from being very wrong) could do more damage than good. She laid her hand upon his thick forearm and urged him to stop. With a confused expression, Ben dropped his arm and the figure doubled up, coughed a few times then lunged out of sight. 

Rey knew she would have to drop her bond with Ben soon, before anyone else arrived. She also needed to try and find out who'd been watching her to see if they heard anything above the noise of the waterfall. “What about you, by what miracle are you still alive and where in the galaxy are you now?” she asked, pulling up her trousers and fastening them round her slender waist.

“It was Leia, she pulled me into the world between worlds using the Force Energy on Exegol. Then she brought me to here to Dagobah” (he spat the name Dagobah, giving Rey the distinct impression he was less than impressed by his current situation) "She believes we need to stay away from each other and to train in the Jedi way until we can control our Dyad Force effectively”.

“You don’t sound convinced by this plan Ben, do you really think we are a danger to ourselves?” she asked. “I agree that we need to train to use our powers for good and to somehow learn to block the Bogan powers which arise from hate, fear and anger” he said. “But now that I see you I am convinced we can achieve this more effectively together, harnessing our Dyad Force with more positive emotions”.

“I have to go now and find out who was here, but then I promise I'll come for you as soon as I can” said Rey, “we will have to find a secret location until I can convince the others that you are no longer Kylo Ren, I just don’t think I can do this yet, without risking your safety”. Ben looked surprised and touched that Rey cared for his safety “Be careful Rey and don’t take too long, this place is worse than Malachor during a Sith curse throwing contest”. 

Rey stifled a giggle, then raised herself up on tiptoes and whispered into his ear “I need you to kiss me now” Ben happily obliged, he caressed her face softly with his thumb. Energy pulsed between them and seemed to give Rey an inner strength. When they stopped kissing he pressed his forehead to hers before fading away.


	5. Girl, Interrupted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finn returns to base and comes up with a plan.
> 
> (whilst relishing the secret he keeps about her behaviour at the waterfall)

**Chapter 5: Girl, Interrupted**

Finn was still grasping at his throat whilst stumbling back towards the Cargo Area as quick as his feet could carry him. It felt as though his windpipe had been crushed. 

_What the hell just happened?_

The apparition that had appeared to Rey did resemble Kylo Ren but that just didn’t make sense. She must be under some kind of Dark Force mind control, nothing else can explain this situation? How else would he have got her to force connect with him whilst touching herself and then to _kiss_ him? This thought sickened him, if only he’d brought his blaster with him, he would have blown that murderous scheming bastard back to whatever space rock he crawled out from!!!

The most worrying thing though, was he was pretty sure he’d heard her giving away their exact location, that is what had galvanized him into action, to get away from the waterfall and go warn the others. 

Finn reached the Cargo Area and let out a gasping cough, he wondered if he'd be able to speak after being force choked. He saw Poe rifling through a container load of food supplies “C’mon there’s gotta be some Jawa Juice in here somewhere, I need a pick me up!” 

Finn tapped him on the shoulder and spoke in a raspy voice “I need to call an emergency meeting, Rey lied about Kylo Ren being dead and we are all in danger”. Poe dropped a box of dried xana fruits on the ground, his face went pale as the mishapen fruits tumbled from their container and rolled in every direction. “How can you possibly know this?”

"Come with me and I’ll explain” said Finn, grabbing a canister of prickly fruit juice to soothe his throat. He cracked it open and chugged down the sweet liquid which instantly soothed his bruised windpipe.

As they headed towards the base, Finn asked Poe to quickly gather any Resistance leaders he could find and meet in the cave which holds the Tantive IV. Finn had lost count of the times he'd overheard Rey complaining about the smell in the caves on Ajan Kloss (Havven+ guano isn't to everyone's taste apparently) so he knew Rey would be unlikely to go there.

Just as Poe headed off, Lieutenant Chireen strode up. He had overheard them talking as they'd passed him a few moments ago and he now asked Finn if he could join them "Sure thing, the more minds we can put to this, the better" said Finn. The enormity of what was going on was just beginning to dawn on him.

Just then he saw his friend Rose in the mechanical supplies tent with R2-D2 and had an idea, he called to her "Rose, could you do me an enormous favour and keep an eye on Rey when she gets back from her walk?” She replied “Urm, ok ... I guess” she still looked engrossed in something she’d been putting together but she eventually turned to face him with a questioning look when his words sank in.

“Watch out for her coming from the Cargo Area and whatever you do, don't let her go near any of the starfighters" said Finn "just tell her she's needed in the control centre and keep her occupied with something until we can join you". Rose looked puzzled but before she could speak he added "I will explain later, it's really important that you do this for me". "You can always trust me Finn, I'll think of something to keep her busy" she beamed at Finn "Artoo, can you finish pairing these crank sensors for me?" R2-D2 replied with a series of bleeps "Thanks, I owe you one" she said and Finn watched as she headed towards the Cargo Area to look for her friend.

The heat had intensified since he'd set out earlier and whenever there was a gap in the trees the Ajaran sun seemed to bake his skin. Finn was glad to finally step into the relative cool of the Tantive IV cave.

A few minutes after he and Chireen arrived, Poe walked in with Lando, Chewbacca and Maz. After they'd sat down on some boxes, Commanders Gartfran and D'Acy arrived from the control tents to see what was going on. They talked amongst themselves for a moment and then turned to face Finn.

"You must all be wondering why I called you here, and the truth is I'm not entirely sure what is going on either but what I am pretty sure about is that I just witnessed Rey, at the Waterfall..." said Finn looking around at his friends.

"Do you mean the Waterfall of Jarron?" interjected Gartfran with a quizzical look on his face. "I'm not sure" replied Finn curtly “it's the one a short walk from the Cargo Area".

"Oh, you went to the Antu Waters then" said Gartfran. "Ok" said Finn feeling a little impatient now, clearly they do not realise the urgency of the situation yet.

"Well, she appeared to be communicating with Kylo Ren" he continued. There was a surprised murmur echoing round the cave and a number of eyebrows were raised in astonishment at this news. "But we understood that Rey had ..." started Lando, before pausing to recollect exactly what Rey had told them. A quietness filled the air as a worrying realisation seeped into their minds.

_She had only said that they wouldn't need to worry about him anymore_

Chewbacca broke the silence with an anguished roar which was amplified by the cave walls, the reverberations caused a blaster rifle that had been perched on a workstation to fall onto the ground with a loud clatter.

"Ok Finn, you need to tell us exactly what was discussed” demanded Commander D'Acy. Finn cleared his still smarting throat and began "Well most of their discussion was muffled by the waterfall but there was one definate thing I could make out for sure" Finn paused and looked around, he was surrounded by faces etched with intense concentration.

He continued "... and that was Rey giving Kylo Ren the exact location of the Resistance Base". The collective gasp was music to his ears - they'd be totally onboard with his plans to destroy Kylo Ren! 

Finn shrewdly decided to keep quiet about Rey's state of undress and the way she had behaved before Kylo Ren appeared to her. 

_That would be his delicious little secret_

"But why in the Galaxy would she do such a thing???" exclaimed Poe. "I can't work that one out either but it seemed like he had her entranced somehow, maybe mind control?" said Finn.

"Defeating Palpatine must have weakened Rey" said Lando. "If only Leia were still with us - she would know what to do" said Maz, closing her eyes as if trying to communicate with Leia.

Finn had an idea "If you're right ... and she is somehow weakened, I might be able to use my Force powers to read Rey's mind and find out where Kylo Ren is situated, then we can destroy him once and for all". "Finn, buddy, do you even realise what you just said?" Poe chuckled "You do know that Rey is extremely powerful with the Force, even if she is weakened, right?"

"Yes, I know that. But what choice do we have right now? That evil star crusher has Rey under a spell and now he knows where we are!" said Finn. Lando stood up and spoke "I suppose it's worth a try, if she is entranced there's no way we can trust her. Also, she will warn Kylo Ren and any hope of a surprise attack will be lost. I mean she's already mislead us about him being dead or at least not a problem any more” he said.

"I also agree, if all this is really true, then it's only a matter of time before he breaks the sith from captivity and comes for us" said Commander D'Acy. Maz sighed "And to think, even in her final moments I felt that Leia really believed she could bring her son back from the Dark Side" she said whistfully. 

Finn was now feeling the pressure to perform an almost impossible task and having all eyes focussed on him, turned to them and said "I need to concentrate so I'm going to sit over there" he pointed to a recess in the cave wall and walked towards it. 

"Good luck buddy" said Poe, to which Chewie added with a yowl that he'll need it. The rest of them started discussing their own plans and theories, meaning that the focus was temporarily lifted from Finn.

 _You can do this Finn, how hard can it be?_ _She'll be busy talking to Rose and won't even notice_

He grabbed some blankets and threw them down on the ground before sitting down cross legged and facing away from his friends. They must have noticed Finn was about to begin as their voices became somewhat more hushed. He breathed deeply and connected with his natural surroundings, the elements, the innate force all around them.

Then he searched for Rey ...

\+ Havven are bat-like creatures with approximately 10cm wingspan, they hunt at dusk and dawn and have disproportionately large orange eyes for finding prey amongst the forest canopy. Living inside nooks of cave walls, their excrement gives off a strong acrid aroma like rotten vegetation though it is said you can become accustomed to the smell if exposed to it for prolonged periods.


	6. The Mind Grab

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finn puts his new mind reading Jedi skill to the test.
> 
> The practice pays off ... but at a very embarrassing price!

**Chapter 6: The Mind Grab**

Rey was pleased to see Rose at the Cargo Area, but as she was talking to Junn Gobint++ she decided to give them a wide berth. 

Rose caught up with Rey and walked alongside her "Hey, where you been?" she asked in an upbeat voice. "Oh, I just thought I'd freshen up at the waterfall I heard about last night" she replied.

Rose grimaced "You know there's a population of Govain snakes on this planet and they mate in pools of water like the one you just bathed in?" Rey shrugged "Well, I didn't see any and it makes a nice change from queueing for an eon just to squat over a tray holding a hose" she paused before asking "did you happen to see anyone else coming this way recently?" "No, I just got here and Junn's been bending my ear about some missing mechanical parts I may or may not have used" said Rose with a guilty look.

"Say, can I get your help on something?" Rose asked "you're really good at fixing stuff and there's been some technical issues in the control room". Rey really wanted to get some food and supplies for her and Ben but she also needed to take a look at the star maps in the control room to get the coordinates for Dagobah. She nodded to Rose "Sure".

"It won't take too long. I just need a second opinion" said Rose, leading her to the control room.

***

Finn was amazed at how easy this seemed to be. Rey's mind was awash with plans, and focussing some more, he caught the name Ben bound up with feelings of love and protectiveness.

_Eugh, Kylo Ren has really done a number on her!_

"Come on Rey, give me the location, give me the location" he thought to himself.

***

When they reached the control room, Rose showed Rey a number of console monitors, she saw that the screens were flickering and rolling. 

Rey suspected some moisture may have seeped into the cabling network again, this was a constant problem on Ajan Kloss because of the high humidity+++. She was surprised Rose needed her help on something so basic but was glad of her company.

"You just need to disconnect them in sequence, blow the cooling fans at the back of the units then remove any excess moisture from all of the connection points with a dry cloth" she effortlessly surmised. "Aaah, that is exactly what I was thinking - do you have time to give me a hand?" she asked with imploring eyes "Commander Gartfran said they need these monitors back up before the rest of the peacekeeping crew can make their way to the new colony of Sith Eternal survivors, to assist with their rehab programme". Rey obliged, hoping this wouldn't take too long.

When Rose looked immersed in cables and connectors, Rey took the opportunity to sneak a look at one of the maps on the wall. She was seeking out Dagobah, her eyes darting frantically around the outer regions of the map until she found it.

***

Finn saw cables, **lots of cables!**

He persevered, hoping he might catch a break without being detected. Then after a few minutes he felt her searching for something and she said the name Dagobah in her mind.

"Yes!!!" he called out loud, he couldn't help himself! But that moment of euphoria somehow got him detected.

The feeling he experienced next was reminicent of a childhood game of tug-of-war. Until now his 1-man team had been doing great against the sleeping rival but now her 100-strong team had woken up and she immediately knew it was Finn!

She effortlessly plucked an image from his mind ... an image firebranded into his subconscious.

_Rey sitting naked beside the waterfall with water trickling down her body_

Worse still, she was experiencing what he had felt whilst watching her. His hand on his achingly hard manhood, stroking it and wishing it was inside her.

***

 _Nooooo!!!_

Rey broke off the mind connection in total shock. At least she now knew who had been watching her.

She tried to reconnect with Finn to find out if he'd been able to see Ben but felt him blocking her. She didn't want to raise suspicion so she left it there but wondered why he'd mind connected with her.

_Perhaps he just has the hots for me?_

++ Junn is a Mythrol who seemed to spend most of his time hanging around the Cargo Area, making sure all the supplies are catalogued and rationed. Rey found him to be a real busy body who was constantly nagging her about her excessive fuel usage!

+++ Adjacent to the control tents, the control room itself contains sensitive equipment. For this purpose it was constructed with solid concrete walls, unlike alot of the base, which mostly consisted of tents, canopies, caves and natural walled structures (like Rey's sleeping quarters). Despite this, and their many attempts to insulate any openings, the balmy midday air was seeping into the control room through the smallest of gaps, drawn to the coolness inside.


	7. Secrets and Lies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter Rey is mislead into going on a fake mission to Tatooine.

**Chapter 7: Secrets and Lies**

Finn shook off his embarrassment then got up and walked over to the others. "Kylo Ren is located on Dagobah" he told them, his chest puffed out with pride. “WelI, I take my hat off to you" said Poe, grinning and turning to Chewbacca "I owe you a hundred credits Chewie and I ought to know better than to bet against you!"

D’Acy stood up to address everyone “Alright, listen everybody - here's what we're going to do, I need Rey placed in a secure location until we can find Kylo Ren and have him eliminated, we cannot afford to trust her until he's gone". "I agree" said Finn "but you should be aware, she is very good at mind control and if she finds out what's going on, she could sabotage the whole operation”.

"Then we need to get her away from here before we head off for Dagobah, somewhere far away, without her suspecting" said D'Acy. "How about we send her on the reconnaissance mission we've been preparing for” asked Lando “but only put in enough fuel for one journey so she can't pursue us, that should give us enough time to seek out Kylo Ren and wipe his dark stain from existence”. "Good idea Lando" said D'Acy "let’s keep this to ourselves until she’s gone, the least people that know about this the better”.

Just then Rose walked in _**alone**_.

"Erm, where's Rey???" Finn asked Rose, feeling a sudden pang of fear. “She said she had to change her clothes and I couldn't exactly follow her into her room” said Rose ”so I thought I'd come and find out what's going on while she changes”.

"I promise I will tell you really soon, but right now I need you hurry back to the sleeping quarters and ask her to meet us in the control tents, tell her we have an urgent mission for her” asked Finn. He felt bad about keeping Rose in the dark, but felt it best she didn't know any more until Rey was safely gone.

"Consider it done" said Rose. Finn touched her arm and smiled appreciatively before she walked off in the direction of the sleeping quarters.

***

Rey was glad to put some clean clothes on, she couldn't wait to get away from this oppressive humidity! She carefully put the Luke and Leia’s lightsabers into a hip satchel, then picked up her own new lightsaber. She quickly fixed up her hair, wanting to look her best for Ben.

Rey stepped out into the blistering heat and was about to set off towards the Cargo Area when she spotted Rose jogging towards her, exertion colouring her cheeks. When she caught her breath Rose said “You’re needed for an urgent mission, I've been asked to bring you to the control tents immediately.” Rey started to wonder if she'd ever get away from the base!

They approached the tents and Rey lifted the flap of the main control tent which was linked up to the other three. Several of the leaders were sitting on makeshift seats including Finn who looked down at the ground when she looked his way.

_Yes - you look away, dirty-minded tree rustler!_

Commander D'Acy stood up and greeted her warmly “Thanks for coming so quickly Rey. We have just had intel that the Sith Eternal survivors' compound has been compromised by a storm and there is a massive security breach. We need to relocate them somewhere more secure before anyone finds out, the rehab program has only just been put in place and they are still deeply loyal to the dark side. A mass escape would be disastrous!”

Rey nodded.

"We are setting up a more permanent settlement for them on Tatooine, but before we can move them we need to get the security systems operational and ensure there are plenty of supplies.” continued D'Acy.

"And I guess that's where I come in?” asked Rey. "Yes, we need you to take the Falcon out to Tattooine, it is already filled with the supplies. The others will be right behind you, their starfighters are still being prepared” she said. “You can take BB8 and Chewbacca.” she added, gesturing for someone to go fetch them. Lando got up and left the tent to seek them out.

Commander Gartfran stepped towards Rey and handed her a folded map. "This is a blueprint of the abandoned Resistance site that we intend to convert into the Sith compound. It gives you the exact location coordinates so you can land somewhere nearby, but I'd advise you not to enter the site until the others have arrived, it's probably teeming with bounty hunters".

_This might not be too disastrous after all, I can drop the stuff off on Tattooine. Then, when the others arrive, I'll grab some supplies and sneak off with one of the X-wings to get Ben._

“You can rely on me Commander” Rey said. Before getting up to leave, she cast a quick glance towards Finn but his eyes were still avoiding her.

There was a buzz of activity under the nets as she approached the Falcon. Just as D'Acy had said, they were fuelling up the Resistance Starfighters in preparation for takeoff. Chewbacca was already at the entry ramp to the Falcon with BB8, Lando passed her as she stepped onboard.

“Everything is set to go, we'll be right behind you” he said. Rey detected a hint of something in his countenance that seemed a little off-kilter, but she quickly dismissed it.

Chewie seemed in a rush to leave so she sat in the co-pilot seat while he punched in the co-ordinates. The engines fired up with a roar and the hatch door slammed shut. Rey carefully rolled the Falcon out from under the nets before lifting the craft up with effortless skill. 

A short while after leaving Ajan Kloss, a warning light flashed up for the sublight drive exhaust. “I'll go check that out” she said to Chewie who growled his acknowledgement. Rey got up and walked towards the rear of the Falcon to investigate.

BB8, who was busy preparing some of the security fixtures for the Tattooine Settlement turned towards Rey and bleeped happily. Rey reflected on how much she will miss BB8 and Chewie but she hopes to reunite with them as soon as she's rescued Ben and completed their Jedi training.

When she reached the exhaust shaft, she saw immediately what the problem was and fixed down the loose pressure plate. Then she decided to take this opportunity to connect with Ben and tell him what was going on so she closed her eyes and steadied her breathing before attempting a Force Connection.

She felt his presence through the pulsing energy waves but it wasn't a strong enough connection to see him. She recalled from the many stories she'd heard about Dagobah, Luke telling her how Yoda hid there because it is shrouded with a strong energy field that makes it difficult to detect anyone using the Force. 

_How can she make the connection strong enough to find Ben like last time?_

She thought about her previous Force connection and how it seemed intensified in her rush of ecstasy. She considered for a moment if she ought to try this method of connection again, then concluded with a smile that it was worth a try. 

She pushed her hand inside her shorts and thought of Ben's firm body peeping through the blanket. Moist with anticipation, her fingers slipped in easily as she imagined the feel of his hands on her body while she touched herself. She gasped as the sweet waves of pleasure rolled over her once again. Just as the waves pushed her to the brink of euphoria she sent out another Force Connection.

This time she saw him clearly and he saw her. He was now fully clothed and sitting in a strangely decorated tree cave eating some kind of fruit.

She quickly pulled her hand out from her shorts but this action did not escape his attention, he raised an eyebrow and his dark eyes twinkled. “I'm all packed and ready to go” he joked, standing up and flinging the core of the fruit into a corner of the cave “so what's taking you so long?”

“I have been sent to Tatooine on an urgent mission and if I'd refused to help it might have raised suspicion.” she told him. “I am going to wait for the others to join me on Tattooine then take one of the X-Wings, you won't have to wait much longer”.

Just then BB8 rolled up to inform her they were arriving at Tattooine so she had to immediately break their connection. She got up and followed her little friend back to the cockpit.

_I need to get back to Ben so much it hurts!_


	8. Warm Suns Set as Cold Reality Dawns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey realises the horrible truth about her mission to Tatooine and fears for Ben.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter I have made the TROS final scene an integral part of my story in an attempt to make sense of it in my mind.
> 
> I would so love any feedback and comments as I am not sure if you are enjoying my more recent chapters.

**Chapter 8: Warm Suns Set as Cold Reality Dawns**

An endless horizon of sand and sky basks in the warm pallette of a typical Tatooine sunset, the stillness broken by a lone hulking figure. He wanders the dunes, hungry for trouble and ill-gotten gains. His eyes are drawn upwards by a brief flicker of light.

_Interesting ..._

Lifting his NSTD2 electrobinoculars to take a closer look, he is greeted by a welcome sight; the distinctive silhouette of a YT-1300 is looming towards him before it swoops down to land nearby. “Could be my lucky day after all” he grunts to himself before loping off towards the settlement nestled in the dunes behind him.

Several minutes pass before an FSD spy droid pops up above the dunes and floats off in the direction of the landing spacecraft.

***

Rey studies the map and scans the terrain below. She feels her heart lift a little, gazing down upon the dusty landscape. Bathed in the golden light of it's binary suns, it somehow feels like home ... perhaps because it reminds her of Jakku? As the Falcon flies over the old Resistance compound, Rey puts down the map and looks for a place to land. She sees a twin domed structure below surrounded by vaporators, and sets the Falcon down nearby.

Chewbacca opens the hatch and roars that he will stay inside in case any bounty hunters should stop by. A cloud of dusty sand billows up as Rey emerges and walks down the ramp, BB8 rolling behind.

The gentle breeze feels pleasantly cool after the oppressive heat of Ajan Kloss, she takes a deep breath of salt dusted air “We may as well go and explore while we're waiting for the others to arrive” she says to BB8. She walks across parched land towards the domed building with BB8 in tow. As they get closer, Rey’s mind is filled with shared memories from a long time ago. 

_Luke lived here_

BB8 rolls off to explore the homestead while Rey walks towards the partially submerged moisture farm. An old hatch door is jutting out invitingly from the sand at the top of a sandy slope. She grabs it and glides down the slope to the moisture farm below.

_Perhaps fate brought me here?_

Wandering through its tunnels, Rey imagines what it must have been like for Luke, was he ever as lonely as she had been? She remembers the lightsabers in her satchel and an idea emerges. BB8 sees her walking back out onto the sandy flats and joins her. In a series of beeps he tells her he likes this place “Yeah, me too BB” she says. A sense of peace and belonging hangs in the air.

_This is perfect_

Rey takes out the lightsabers and looks at them one last time. If only she could have had a family and a home like this growing up. She needed to feel that sense of belonging that most people take for granted, to have a proper sense of identity. When she thought about her own identity she liked to think she and Leia shared similar qualities. Leia reminded Rey of herself; fiesty, head strong, brave and totally devoted to the Resistance.

She places the lightsabers on the cloth and lovingly wraps the lightsabers back up before tying them with a strip of leather. Laying her hand on the parcel, Rey reflects how Leia had come to Ben on Kef Bir. How she had snapped him out of the ruthless veneer he hid behind as Kylo Ren. She had even trapped herself in the world between worlds just so her son could live and Rey would be eternally thankful to Leia for these acts. 

She uses the force to bury the lightsabers, it feels like she has brought a part of Luke and Leia home. When this is done, she can’t resist taking out her own lightsaber. She had wanted something of her own so she’d used the handle of her trusty quarterstaff and converted it into a vessel for Leia’s kyber crystals. She activates it and a beam of yellow force energy shoots out.

Leia had found these crystals a long time ago on Mustafar and kept them secret. A short while back Leia had given the crystals to Rey saying she’d always wanted to find someone worthy of wielding their power. In fact, the crystals were so powerful Rey had to put special power vents into the hilt. 

Rey looked up with a start, an old lady with her Eopie was just standing there watching Rey with a curious look on her face. “There’s been no one here for so long, who are you?” she asks.

“Rey” she replied.

“Rey who?” the inquisitive lady probed further.

Instead of giving her usual answer, Rey paused to give this some thought. She felt a deep affinity with Leia and wanted to continue her mentor’s legacy of leadership and protection with Ben at her side. Leia was born a Skywalker. She imagines Luke and Leia are watching her now and she has never felt closer to them.

“Rey Skywalker” she replied. 

The old lady nods to her. Smiling and turning away, Rey heads back to the Falcon with BB8. On the way they stop to admire the twin suns. Impressively magnified by the atmosphere, they are kissing the horizon now. She wonders where she and Ben will end up...

After they walk on, the spy droid floats quietly out from a doorway in the homestead and follows at a distance. 

She steps back up the ramp and enters the Falcon. “Hey Chewie, have you seen any of the others yet?" she asks "they ought to be here by now”. Chewie grunts that nothing has happened and he's bored. BB8 offers to play a game of Dejarik with him. As they set up the game, Rey wanders off towards the cockpit, grabbing a space waffle on the way.

A few moments later the spy droid floats in and sails past her preoccupied friends. It follows Rey towards the cockpit and sets itself down gently on a shelf. She sits down to wait for her friends, chewing on the waffle. That's when she notices the fuel gauge needle is pointing at red.

_We don’t have enough fuel to go anywhere!_

She is just starting to get a really bad feeling about this mission when Ben appears before her. He is somewhere different this time, it looks like a dark twisted hollow now, he smiles briefly before darting a furtive look upwards.

“Where the hell are you Rey, please tell me you are on one of the star fighters hovering above Dagobah!” “What??? I don’t understand, they are on their way to join me here on Tatooine!” she exclaims. “Well apparently they lied and I don’t think this is a friendly visit, I just saw some of your Resistance comrades parachuting down and they look armed and ready for trouble".

Rey thought for a moment “Finn!” she said. This realisation was swiftly followed by fury ... then a painful fear for Ben!

“They all hate me, it's no more than I deserve” he says, his face looks masked and expressionless and his eyes have lost their shine. It was like she was looking at Kylo Ren, Rey's heart ached for him. “I am going to come and get you” she said and kissed him, he lovingly touched her face and breathed her in.

But just then, he seemed to have seen or heard something because he pulled away from her and pressed himself into a twisted nook in the wall and dropped their connection. Rey sat there in stunned disbelief as the spy droid, happy it had what it needed, floated away.


	9. Hunter and the Hunted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben hides as he is hunted down by the Resistance. 
> 
> Finn relishes every minute of his coordinated manhunt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know if you enjoy my latest installment.
> 
> Your kind feedback is what I live for ❤️

**Chapter 9: Hunter and the Hunted**

The green cloud-covered sphere that is Dagobah looms into view until all Finn can see is treetops and steaming swamps. Finn uses the Force to feel for Kylo Ren's presence but the energy fields here are confusing. Just when he starts to think his powers are failing him, he feels a very faint echo of Force energy in one particular region. “Ok, I think he's around here somewhere!” he calls out over the radio link “Lets get in position to drop the fighters, is everyone ready?”

“Roger that” came Poe's quick response. The others all replied in agreement. “Those of you being deployed now will need to form a search perimeter to the east of the drop point and head west, we'll meet you from the other side" said Finn.

“You heard him, let's go catch us a villain!" said Poe. Fighters with parachuting gear dropped from a number of the surrounding Star Fighters before opening their chutes to descend gently into the murky canopy below. Meanwhile, the single-seated fighters hung behind awaiting further instruction.

All the parachutes had now disappeared into the trees. “Alright, now follow me, we are going to head towards a clearing west of here so we can all land” said Finn, enjoying every minute of this. 

Steering his X-Wing to the west he looks for the clearing he’d seen on his map. After a while he sees a patch of rough grassland and brings his X-Wing down for a bumpy landing. After removing his helmet, he climbs down from the cockpit and assesses the area. As he stands and waits for the others to land and join him, Finn can't help smiling, privately congratulating himself on his plan. He hopes that Rey will be grateful when the spell is broken.

_Really grateful_

He hides his smile as the others walk up to him before forming a perimeter search line and heading towards the trees.

***

Ben’s primal instincts are screaming at him to get out of the cave, it feels as though someone is crushing his soul but he also knows this is his best chance of survival. The Resistance fighters have him totally surrounded.

He has been here before and lived to tell the tale he thinks to himself reassuringly. He'd even destroyed the cursed spirit which had inhabited the cave and reflected your darkest secrets to you. Even so, there is still an air of menace in here which seems to hate him now. 

He wonders if he will get out of this situation alive, he also wonders whether it would be wrong to kill in self defense. Even if he could use the force to kill them though, Ben knows he is vastly outnumbered and Rey would never forgive him for killing her friends. 

_Will Rey ever get here ... before it’s too late?_

He hears snapping twigs and rustling leaves, the Resistance fighters are approaching the cave. “I don’t like the feel of this place, no way am I going in there” says a deep voice followed by a chorus of agreement. “I've heard about this place, this must be the Cave of Evil that Anakin and Luke entered once.” said a slightly shaky voice. “I think you’re right, I've heard it can change you forever and drive you insane" said the deep voice.

“I’ll go in, it’s the only place we’ve not searched and there is evidence of a camp fire not far from here” said another voice “so he has to be in there”. This voice was unmistakable, Ben recalled it belonging to the traitor FN2187! He enters the cave and looks around, Ben uses the force to shroud himself in the darkness.

He can just make out the shape of the defector fumbling around in the gloom “Come out you evil piece of shit, we have you cornered” he calls to Ben.

_He is trying to get a response so he can shoot me but there is fear in his voice_

Getting no response Finn continues “In case you were wondering, I’m the one you force choked at the waterfall and I'm here to tell you this; You can’t just go around using your dark powers to seduce girls you sick fuck!" Ben hates hiding here like a coward or a thief while Finn chides him but he has no choice.

“There’s no way Rey would look twice at a sadistic murderer like you without some kind of force trickery.” Finn taunts him. Ben remained silent, seething with anger and fighting the urge to snap Finn's neck, but if Finn doesn’t walk back out of this cave he’s as good as dead.

Now feeling emboldened by his ability to handle the Cave of Evil's dark thrum, Finn continued “You’re going to pay for all you’ve done then I'm going to enjoy telling Rey that you’re gone. She digs me and I'm going to dig her if you if understand me. I'll send you a postcard in the afterlife to tell you how good she tastes”. 

Ben knows that this traitor feels the dark energy in the cave just as keenly as he does, perhaps Ben can use this fear to his advantage? Against his instincts, he silently summons up the curse that he'd broken when Snoke had sent him in here. It took alot of his energy to draw the dark spirit back into the cave from it's banishment and he feared the curse every bit as much as Finn.

Finn sensed a change in the cave and backed away slightly, his lightsaber lit in preparation for trouble. Whilst Ben faced his own personal demons he noticed a look of horror on FN2187’s face before he hastily exited the cave.

***

“Torch the cave!” commands Finn staggering out and feeling the bitter sting of defeat. “But Finn, if that fire spreads it could damage the entire eco system here” says Wipolo. “And if we don’t kill him now, one planet's greenery is going to be the least of our problems, now will someone torch the goddamn cave or do I have to do it myself?”

Poe and Lando looked at him with concern “What happened, did you see him in there?” asked Lando. “Let’s just say I felt him” said Finn.

They tossed a pile of deadwood as far as they dared into the cave entrance before Poe lit a match and dropped it in. Small tongues of fire quickly grew to an inferno that spread into the cave. They stood back from the fumes pointing their guns towards the entrance but nobody came out. Some time passed before the flames died down and smouldered, the cave entrance was now pitch black with billowing smoke.

“Come on Finn I think he'd be dead by now, even if the fire didn’t get him nobody can survive that much smoke.” said Poe, putting his arm round Finn's shoulders. Finn agreed, besides he didn’t relish the idea of going back into the cave to look for a body so he nodded and turned to leave.

***

Ben is laying on the ground, the fire that had seared his skin had at last died down but he is still gasping for air. He holds his jumper over his face to filter the smoke but is still coughing and retching. He knows he cannot leave the cave until they are gone, so remains there thinking of Rey until he eventually passes out.

*** 

Above the trees the Star Fighters are once again airborne and heading back to Base to celebrate their victory.


	10. Hope Against Despair

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey confronts Chewie and BB8 and they plan to save Ben.
> 
> Meanwhile, a villainous neighbour plots to use Rey for his own sordid gains.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd love any comments and feedback x

**Chapter 10: Hope Against Despair**

Ben heard a voice in his head, it roused him from the blackness he'd slipped into, inside the smouldering cave. "Ben, you need to get out of here" it was Han.

_Dad!_

He did not have the energy to reply but knew it must be important that he get out from this cursed place.

Mustering all the strength he had left, he crawled across the charred ashes, which were still red hot. He could feel his hands and knees burning but he persevered, determined to reach the green light of the cave entrance and the sweet fresh air it promised. His jumper which now hung round his neck was dragging on the ground and he accidentally put a hand on it, causing him to stumble forward.

The bright light from outside stung his eyes when he emerged. His last bit of energy gone and his clogged lungs denying him enough air to stay conscious, he fell back to the ground and let the nothingness consume him once more.

***

Rey breaks out of her stupor and walks towards the lounge area where Chewbacca and BB8 are arguing about whether Chewbacca did or did not just move his holographic pawn illegally. She sits down and scowls at them, it's time for a chat. “Chewie, did you know we were out of fuel?” she asked him. 

Chewbacca was either ignoring her to avoid answering the question or else he was completely engrossed in their game of Dejarik and didn’t hear. He moved his game piece back to where it had been and roared at BB8 to stop being so uptight.

“Did you know this fake mission was arranged to get rid of me so they could kill Ben?” she spoke louder this time and addressed them both. Chewbacca stopped playing and looked down at his feet before emitting a low growl. She could tell he really wasn’t proud of the fact he’d lied to her.

“And what about you BB, were you in on this too?” she asked her seemingly faithful old friend, the series of beeps that came back stabbed her in the heart. She stood up and looked away, tears brimming and then streaming down her face. “He's not Kylo Ren anymore, Leia managed to get Ben back on Kef Bir. He came to me on Exegol and helped me defeat Palpatine and then he saved my life by risking his own”. 

Chewbacca told her in a series of growls that he only went along with it because they all thought she’d been under some kind of trance cast by Kylo Ren. Rey shook her head in disbelief at what she was hearing “I could have told you the truth if you'd just given me a chance. Leia gave up so much to bring him back and now they're just going to kill him???” 

Chewbacca looked deep in thought for a moment then he stood up from the table and switched off the game. He yowled that it might not be too late if they can find some fuel or transport to get to Dagobah.

“Well I think that’s the least you can do but it doesn’t mean I've forgiven you yet, nor you BB”. BB8 rolled towards the exit hatch and opened it beeping at them to hurry. They stepped down into the darkening landscape. BB8 lit their way with a beam and Rey hoped with all her heart it wasn’t too late.

*** 

The spy droid returned from the Falcon and entered a run down shack on the outskirts of the settlement across the dunes. It hovered above its master.

The droid's master is an unusually well built Tusken Raider called Gartho, although his gang call him Gart. He is cruel and ruthless and very proud of his booming weapons monopoly and growing side business in mind altering drugs. He'd settled on Tatooine because there was an abundance of passing trade, mostly of a dubious nature.

There are a bunch of Raiders sitting on floor cushions around the shack. It is where Gartho likes to conduct his business, handily close to the settlement for his customers but safely away from the weapon stores at the compound (which he keeps heavily guarded). When deals are done he sends his lackeys to fetch the procured weaponry.

“So show me what you got Spinner” he says to the spy droid (so called because it spins when it’s happy). They watch the droid’s projection of a girl holding her lightsaber and listen to her calling herself a 'Skywalker’.

 _Skywalkers are known to be strong with the force and she definitely knows her way around that lightsaber_

Then they watch her sitting in her spacecraft. Gartho squinted at the projection, a blurry figure had appeared and they were talking. “Hey, that can’t be the famous Supreme Leader Kylo Ren can it?” he asked disbelievingly, the others murmured their agreement. He was definitely glad he'd upgraded Spinner to detect changes in force energy and convert them into visual waves! This possible Kylo Ren person appeared to be in trouble and said he was waiting for the girl to get to him on Dagobah. 

They watched as the droid’s projection showed a large wookie and a BB droid on the spacecraft, that’s when the projection flickered off. “Ok, show's over. Time to move in on them before they have company.” He had a fiendish idea.

_So the Resistance think they can swan back in here and spoil things do they?_

Gartho had been using the compound as his arms dealing depot and considered it his property, he's not just going to hand it back to those do-gooders after all this time! Well maybe we can have a little fun with this 'Skywalker' girl and keep that Resistance trash out of our compound into the bargain he thought to himself and laughed, his fat body wobbling under his desert coloured tunic.

“Gaddrat” he called to his business partner and friend “Can you take the Interceptor to Dagobah and see if you can find this girl's beau, don’t worry, he's unarmed. But I only want him if he’s still alive, comprende?” Gaddrat got up and nodded with a smile. He pushed the shack door open and stomped off across the dunes. When he reached the rear of the compound, he pulled the tarpaulin off a dusty A-Wing++.

He climbed in and started the engines, then shot up into the dark sky and disappeared. 

Meanwhile in the shack, Gartho had wrenched himself up off his cushion “Fetch me the sleeping vial and a cloth, also we'll need some netting for the fur ball and a zapper for the BB unit." He summoned a group of his fiercest grunts and instructed them with his plan "Oh, and get the shackles ready, she looks a sparky one” he called back to them on his way out.

++ The Tusken Raiders had managed to procure their A-Wing Interceptor a few years ago. It had crashed during a skirmish on Tatooine a long time ago and more recently had been discovered buried in the sand dunes and salvaged back to it's fully operational state. It is now the pride of Gartho's otherwise piecemeal fleet.


	11. To Catch a Thief

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey, Chewbacca and BB8 are captured.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a short one but there's more to follow soon and the next chapter's a belter!

**Chapter 11: To Catch a Thief**

The suns are slowly dipping out of sight and leaving the landscape to hide in shadows. They notice a glow colouring the inky sky from behind the dunes so they decide to set off in that direction. Rey thinks of Finn and what else he must have seen at the waterfall that day. Rose had been right, there had been snake at the waterfall ... Finn!

_She can only hope it’s not too late to save Ben._

Just as they reach the crest of the first dune, they spy a light hovering ahead of them. Around it there are several walking figures of varying shapes and sizes. They approach Rey and she sees they all look a bit shifty but they are smiling welcomingly. “Well, good evening to you, we were not expecting to find anyone else out here. Are you lost?” says a large cloaked figure in a polite voice.

Rey dropped her guard a little, they seemed friendly and might have a spacecraft she can borrow. 

_Or steal?_

“We are just passing through and we thought we’d try the local entertainment before we leave. Can you offer any suggestions?” she asked lightly. His companions, a motley crew of sand people dressed in heavy cloaks, gather closely around the trio.

Rey has a bad feeling about this but has to play along now. She touched her hand on her lightsaber ready for action. “Well I do know a really good bar over this way he said, pointing towards the dunes behind him. I'll show you with this map, here take a look” he invited, pulling out something white. Rey looked at it but before she realised it wasn’t a map his hand shot up towards her face and pushed a cloth over her mouth and nose. She sank into blackness, and dropped to the ground.

At the same moment that Rey dropped to the ground, a large net flew over Chewbacca and was quickly drawn up around him with a rope. He struggled and tried to bite his way out but the net was reinforced and too strong to chew or cut through. The net was also too restrictive to do anything with his bowcaster so he yowled loudly to BB8 to shoot him out. 

Before BB8 could do anything, an elctro-prod was thrust towards him and bright bolt of blue took out his circuits. His lights went out and his head slipped off and thumped onto the sand. 

One of the raiders took the unlit lightsaber from Rey's limp hand and picked her up and slung her over his shoulder. Then the raiders headed back towards the shack with their bounty, BB8 being rolled and kicked along and Chewie dragged roughly whilst being threatened with the electro-prod.


	12. A Captive Audience

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey is compelled to watch a private show of amour.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song "Wicked Game" by Chris Isaak" reminds me of Finn's longing for Rey.  
> https://youtu.be/dlJew-Dw87I

**Chapter 12: A Captive Audience**

The Resistance arrived back at Ajan Kloss and Finn was feeling jubilant and ready to celebrate.

They all gathered around the tents drinking and talking about their plans to move the Sith to the old compound on Tatooine and it was agreed that they would send a select team out there the following day.

After a while Finn got restless and disinterested in the merriment. All he could think about was Rey, he had always been attracted to her, she was powerful with the force, had a natural technical aptitude, was an ace pilot and she was beautiful … and that was before he'd seen her naked.

He couldn't wait to see her freed from Kylo Ren's sorcery so he told the others he was going to turn in for the night and headed for his sleeping quarters. He took off his clothes and flopped onto his bunk wanting to sleep so tomorrow would come quicker. 

_But sleep didn't come_

He was too wired from the day's excitement and too excited about seeing Rey to switch off and go to sleep. Finn had a tried and tested method which usually helped him sleep, he considered using it tonight.

He guessed his room mates would be out there for a while yet ...

Finn grabbed a piece of cloth from under his bunk and laid it on the bed, then he slid his hand down his body until it reached his already hard penis. He caressed it as he thought about Rey sitting naked with water dripping down her body, droplets falling from her nipples. He imagined her delicate hand dwarfed by his engorged manhood as she reaches out to hold it, then running her tongue along it's length before gently kissing the end of it with her soft moist lips. 

He then wrapped his fingers around the rigid shaft and pulled gently on it to start, wanting so badly for it to be Rey's body wrapped around him. He imagined he was pushing it inside her and started to pull harder.

Oh how he wished she would force connect with him like she did with Kylo Ren whilst fingering herself, then he wondered if his force powers were strong enough for him to try it. He felt a pulsing pleasure start to course through his body then ...

_He unintentionally put out a force connection to Rey ..._

*** 

The drug was starting to wear off, Rey opened her heavy eyelids but her vision was blurred. Her hands and ankles were sore and she realised she's been shackled to a chair, she blinked her eyes so she could focus on her surroundings.

_What happened to me and where are Chewbacca and BB8?_

Then Rey felt a familiar surge of energy and a wall of silence dropped around her, her heart soared

 _Could it be Ben???_

The person who appeared to her came as a rude surprise, it was Finn! 

He is sitting on a bed completely naked, holding his sizeable penis in a firm grip and is vigorously pulling at it. His eyes are closed, blissfully unaware of his silent spectator and his bottom lip is twitching with every tug. Rey is unsure whether she should interrupt this private show, a strange fascination stills her speech momentarily.

He makes panting sounds which turn into a series of “aaah, aaah, aaah, mmmhhh, mmmhhh, before giving out a final “R-Reyyyy ... aaaahhhh” his mouth now wide open with pleasure. She looks down in horror to see a jet of white liquid spurt forth from the tip of his quivering penis. Then he lets out a long sigh, a big smile lighting up his sweat beaded face.

“Yes Finn?” came the chilly response. 

Finn's eyes snap open. “Why do you keep doing this, do you really think I like you in that way?” she asked, her voice barbed with sharpness. Finn looked embarrassed, he grabbed a sheet and covered himself. "Well it’s a bit late for modesty!" she snapped.

“I urm, I didn’t realise we'd connected. Honestly, I wouldn’t have wanted to embarrass you like that” he murmured.

“Where is Ben, what have you done to him?” She asked, deciding to focus on what’s important. “I guess you’re referring to Kylo Ren, you won’t have to worry about him. We paid him a little visit on Dagobah and we got on like a house on fire ... or maybe I should say a cave on fire" said Finn looking pleased with himself.

“He was alone and unarmed and you enjoyed it didn’t you, I can feel it in you. You're a monster!” she yelled at him. “I'm not the monster, he committed genocide!” Finn retorted "You are under some kind of spell, we just need to figure out how to break it. 

Also, may I ask why you are tied to a chair, are you in trouble Rey?". He asked with a look of concern. She ignores this question figuring he'd be the last person she wants coming to her rescue. “You’re such an idiot, I will make you pay for this!!!” she said through gritted teeth.

Then she promptly broke off their force connection.


	13. Revenge is a Confession of Pain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben is brought to Tatooine, Gart resorts to a very underhand method of persuasion and Finn is restless to save his damsel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a few more chapters to go.
> 
> I love any comments and feedback so I know you're still enjoying it x

**Chapter 13: Revenge is a Confession of Pain**

Gaddrat made a beeline through the stars, he didn’t need to look at any star maps to find Dagobah, he knew this galaxy like the back of his hand.

He arrived and flew around looking for a place to land. By sheer luck he spotted a tendril of smoke snaking it’s way out of the treetops. He found a small plot of land, steered the A-Wing towards it and landed. Standing on top of the Interceptor he turned towards the tree tops where he'd seen the smoke, to note it’s distance and direction.

It didn’t take him long to trudge his way around the swamps and through thick woodland to find the source of the smoke. The acrid stench told him he’d arrived first, through the vines ahead of him he saw the dark yawning mouth of a fossilized tree-cave and at its entrance laid a half-dressed unconscious man. He was sprawled out, completely inert and lying face down. His bare skin was streaked with black as if he'd been down a mine and he had a black jumper loosely wrapped around his head.

Gaddrat approached wearily, brandishing his electro-prod. He jabbed the man with it a couple of times but there was no response so he leant down and felt for a pulse. He could just about feel a weak flutter in the man’s veins so he tethered his thick wrists and ankles tightly with some strong vines. He pulled the jumper down off his head to see if it really was Kylo Ren “Holy crap!” he exclaimed to himself, then he grinned widely.

_He had found the Supreme Leader himself!_

He hoisted the deadweight figure up onto his shoulder, groaning under the strain “You are one big hunk of human!” he grunted as he trudged back to the A-Wing. When he eventually arrived back at the clearing his whole body ached from lugging the leviathan of a man that was Kylo Ren. 

It took several attempts to hoist him up onto the spacecraft, but with grim determination he eventually managed to use a pulley system and roughly shoved Kylo down into the passenger seat. He looked down at his cloak which was now covered in greasy soot. “You'd better not go and die on me after all this!” he called back to his unconscious passenger as he climbed into the front of the cockpit and pulled down the canopy window.

The twin engines roared into action and he took off in the direction of Tatooine.

***

Rey looked for some clue as to where she was and who had kidnapped her. She was in a small dingy room with no window, the only source of light was a beam of yellow haze slanting down from a small vent near the ceiling. She may be near the settlement they were heading towards she thought, that had been emitting a similar light up into the sky.

She could just about make out a single door into the room and nearby several boxes were brimming with shiny metalic cylinders looking alot like bullets and ammunition clips.

_That is whole lot of ammo!_

As she was completely immobilised and powerless to do anything else, Rey attempted to force connect with Ben, to see if what Finn had just told her was really true. She felt nothing, not even a faint echo of his force came back this time. Finn's unabashed confession finally dawned on her and she felt as though the galaxy had swallowed her up into a black hole from which there was no escape. Tears streamed down her face and a guttural scream sprang from deep within, reverberating around the makeshift prison before the enduring silence could quash it. 

She sat there, captive and alone. Fear and anger invited a darkness which began to seep in and taint her force energy and for the first time in her life she openly welcomed it. It comforted her and gave her a renewed strength she didn't know she had, her love and dyad partner is now gone and revenge on those responsible is all she cares about now. The door opened and the man who had offered her a map on the dunes walked in and greeted her, he was holding a cup in one hand and a lamp in the other. "Aaah, so the mysterious Rey is awake!”.

“You seriously don't want to vex me right now, I will twist your neck in a heartbeat if you don't let me out of here!” she threatened.

He set the lamp down and turned to her, his features looking sinister in the lamp's glow. "Oh, I don't think that would be wise, not if you ever want to see your hairy friend again. We have him caged up and my men have orders to kill him if you try anything freaky with your Force Powers” he smirked. Rey stared at him intently and tried mind control but he merely raised an eyebrow “I can guess what your trying to do sweetheart and that stuff doesn't work on us Tuskens, we evolved to be superior to humans!”

_Dammit, I'm running out of options!_

“Look, I get the feeling you're not too enamoured with your Resistance pals after they went off to terminate your beloved Dark Prince” he said “So you want revenge and I totally get that. I may actually be able to help you and in return I get to keep my compound, that's all I want from this I promise”.

He walked towards her, holding the cup up to her lips. She tried to turn away from it “It's just a little water, why would I poison the best weapon we have?” Her throat was parched from the desert air and she hadn't had a drink in ages, the temptation was too much to resist. She gratefully drank the gritty water while he smiled down at her.

“My name is Gart by the way, I'm just going to leave you to think about your options for a while” he said, collecting the lamp on his way out of the door. She heard the noise of a key turning in the lock from the other side and then she was once more left in silence.

***

Finn woke up from a fitful sleep, all he could think about was Rey and how she hated him.

His room mates were all still asleep, Major Angon was snoring loudly from his bed across the room. The sun had risen and Finn was too restless to stay in bed.

He got up and went to the washroom, there was no queue yet so he went straight in and showered himself. He felt guilty for connecting with Rey whilst in orgasm, how could he have been so stupid! He grabbed a lava tree pod from a bowl next to the shower and squeezed it's contents into his hands before lathering it all over his body and hair, it felt good to wash off all the sweat and bodily fluid from last night's 'incident'.

After drying himself and getting dressed he sat to eat his breakfast in the mess tent, he watched as his friends emerged one by one from their sleeping quarters. He is impatient to get to Tatooine and rescue Rey but if he takes an X-Wing and steals off early there will be questions. They can't find out about his midnight connection! It was partly his idea to send her there in the first place and now she could be in serious trouble, he only hopes that rescuing her and proving his love to her will break the villainous spell.

Eventually, everyone else is dressed and they are gathered to listen to Commander D'Acy's plans, afterwards she picks out roughly 30 Resistance personnel to be deployed to Tatooine immediately.

_At last!_

Finn is the first one to board his X-Wing and take off.


	14. Hello Darkness My Old Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Filled with hate and vengance (and a slug of Persuedon potion) Rey welcomes the dark force and recruits an awestruck Ben.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not far to go in my story now, hope you are still enjoying it.
> 
> I always love to receive your kind comments and kudos 😚

**Chapter 14: Hello Darkness My Old Friend**

Gadratt brings the A-Wing down to land, it's powerful jets drawing an orange line in the jet black sky as it descends. The engines' roar gradually diminishes to a purr before stopping and Gadratt climbs out, calling to his friends “Hey, any of you care to help me haul this huge carcass off here?” A couple of them leave their posts at the munitions store crawl through a gap in the perimeter fence before bounding towards him. They are keen to see what he has brought.

One of the Raiders climbs up to help Gadratt, while the other one stays on the ground to assist with getting the unconscious man down off the wing. Their heavy payload drops to the ground with a thud but still doesn't stir from it's deathly slumber. Gadratt says proudly to his friends “Randor and Warg, I would like you to meet the fearsome legend that is Kylo Ren”.

“No freakin' way!” exclaims Randor. Warg turns the body over to look at the pale face which, although plastered with thick dark hair and streaked with black lines, is unmistakable. “He's right Randor, take a look for yourself”.

“I'm glad he's unconscious, the things I've heard about him would make your blood run cold” said Warg, his face a picture of awe and admiration.

Gadratt heaves Kylo Ren onto his already aching shoulder and heads off towards the shack.

***

Gart sits on a cushion with several of his associates, they have been discussing how they could use Rey's force powers to expand their lucrative weapons cartel. He privately congratulates himself for having spiked Rey's water with Persuedon and laughs to himself.

_In just a few minutes she'll be putty in my hands_

Just as he is about to return to Rey's cell, the door to the shack bursts open and Gadratt strides in with a dark figure draped over his shoulder. “One Kylo Ren as requested” he says, catching his breath. The inert body is lowered and dropped onto the floor cushions and a collective gasp resounds as they all look upon the ashen face before them.

“He looks dead, I told you not to bother if he's dead!” said Gart sharply. “There was a pulse when I found him” replied Gadratt. He felt again for a pulse, it felt even weaker than before but it was still there. “Yep he's still alive, it's like the stubborn bastard refuses to die" he told them all.

“Okay this is perfect, now it's time to recruit me a Skywalker” says Gart, picking up a box from a corner of the shack before heading off to the store room. He is feeling unstoppable.

***

Rey is starting to feel strange, the room feels like it's spinning and she feels as though she's constantly falling backwards.

_He spiked my water!_

Can things possibly get any worse? she wonders.

After an indeterminable amount of time, her captor re-enters the storeroom, this time without the lamp. He places a box on the floor and creeps up to her in the semi-darkness, making her skin crawl. His voice whispers hoarsely into her ear “You will work for me and you will enjoy it. If you do what I want, I can give you something you really, really want”. Steamy breath heats her cheek with its foul moisture.

Trying so hard to fight the effects of the drug, she warns him “You even try to touch me and I will snap your penis off like a twig”. “You misunderstand me dear” he laughs heartily “I can have women anytime I want … and I do, but that's not what I want you for.”

“Then what do you want?” asks Rey, the urge to fight him now ebbing away. “I want to make you an honorary partner of my weapons business and in return I'll always have your back" he tells her "unlike those lying, treacherous Resistance scumbags”. He kicks the box towards her then fetches his lamp so she can see it better.

It is a box containing a pile of dark clothes “I brought you some outfits that I keep for my special lady guests. I thought you might like to send your Resistance friends a clear message that you have changed, to make them fear you before they die”. She likes this idea! He removes her shackles and her ankles and wrists sing with relief, free from their harsh metallic grip. Then he locks himself in the room with her.

Rey feels light and floaty now and she doesn't even care that he is staying to watch her get undressed. She feels an inexplicably unwavering trust for this strange man. “When you're dressed I have a little gift to prove I am on your side. You are going to love it, I promise”. She unbinds her breasts and removes her shorts. Her captor's roving eyes are all over her and he is making appreciative noises but she no longer cares. She leans over the box to choose a new outfit, her naked derriere now in his full unwavering view. When she is dressed he puts an arm around her waist and leads her to the adjacent shack.

When she enters the shack, she cannot believe who she is seeing laid out on the floor cushions. 

"BEN!!”

He is blackened and lifeless. She rushes over to him and weeps openly when she sees the deathly palour of his skin. She leans over his sweet soot streaked face and kisses him repeatedly, her tears creating white splashes on his skin. Then she sits up, takes a deep breath and lays her hands upon his naked torso, closing her eyes.

***

Ben wakes up feeling a familiar surge of power but this time it is laced with darkness ... delicious darkness! He tries to breathe but his chest feels as though it has been filled with tar. He racks his body to cough it out and spits out great globs of acrid sputum before laying his aching body back down.

He feels a pair of hands upon him, their touch is like a salve for his pain, it spreads a healing warmth throughout his whole body. When he has the strength to open his eyes he looks up to see Rey. She is a vision in black, tendrils of dark hair framing her beautiful face. He notes that she is wearing skin tight trousers and her top half is interlaced with dark straps which accentuate her perfect figure. On her feet are a pair of knee high black lace up boots and a long black cloak hangs alluringly behind her.

_She is devastatingly beautiful_

One of the several men sitting around him leans over and hands Rey a bowl of water with a cloth floating in it. "Thank you" she speaks to the large cloaked man with an air of familiarity, as if she has known him for a long time. She squeezes the water from the cloth then gently washes the soot off Ben's face and body, every time she touches him it feels like her love is passing into him and he is in ecstasy.

When he is clean she pulls his jumper tenderly down over his body and he pushes his arms into the sleeves. He looks deeply into her eyes, they are different somehow like a fire has been lit within them. She smiles warmly back at him then suddenly stands up and puts a hand out to her side. Her lightsaber flies towards her hand from a shelf on the wall. She lights it's yellow glowing rod and looks to Ben invitingly. He feels turned on by the strength of dark forces swirling within her, his own renewed force is completely drawn to it.

Ben lifts himself a little and leans on an elbow "Where are we, how did I get here?" he asks in a hoarse voice. "You are on Tatooine, our new friends here came and rescued you from Dagobah". Ben looked around at the men, they were rough looking and all of them were wearing sand coloured clothes.

_Raiders!_

The thick set raider who had brought the bowl of water to Rey stepped towards Ben "My name is Gart" he said with a bow "my men and I are all at your humble service Dark Lord".

“Come with me Ben and help me bring down the rats who hunted you, then left you for dead. From now on it's just you and me” her lips are not moving, she is speaking to him with her mind. 

Rey wants **me** to join **her** and use the Dark Force to destroy the Resistance? Is he dreaming, this is what he has always wanted! He could feel the darkness in them growing and he welcomed it in like an old friend, Ben has literally never wanted her more in his whole life! He sits up feeling reenergised, his aches now just a memory and his scorched hands and knees completely healed from her touch “I would do anything for you Rey, you are all that matters to me now” he replies with his mind.

At that moment one of the guards enters the shack to tell them a fleet of spacecraft have arrived. A loud roar of engines fills the air.

Rey pulls Ben up from the cushions and kisses him hard, a passion fueled power now flows freely between them. They leave the shack with the troop of raiders in their wake, taking purposeful strides in perfect synchronicity. Their two hearts are now bound as one by a hell bent desire for revenge.


	15. A Change of Allegiance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There is a big showdown at the compound, and a massive swing in allegiance.
> 
> Be warned, this is a long chapter!

**Chapter 15: A Change of Allegiance**

The twin suns slip above the horizon casting a warm welcoming glow as the fleet arrives on Tatooine. At it's head, Finn searches the dusty plains for the compound and it's not long before he finds a regimented cluster of cuboids casting lengthy shadows onto the sand strewn landscape. The sight of the nearby Falcon causes his heart to lurch with worry and anticipation.

“I've located the compound, let's set down here next to the Falcon” he speaks into the radio before bringing his X-Wing down in a plume of dust. The rest of the fleet swiftly follow behind and soon they are climbing out of a dozen or so fighter spacecrafts and congregating in their midst. “I was hoping for a welcoming committee” said Finn “I'll go and see if they're in the Falcon”. He was pretending to be none the wiser to Rey's predicament. “I'll come with you” said Poe walking alongside him as they headed towards the nearby Falcon.

They walked up the ramp and entered the vessel, there was an eerie air of silence. Finn walked around the entire place, trying to make out he was nonplussed to their apparent absence. “Perhaps they're at the compound?” suggested Poe. “You could be right let's all head over there and see if we can find them” said Finn. When they get back to the others they discover some of their group have already left for the compound. Finn surreptitiously places a hand on his lightsaber, half expecting trouble. “I think we should all do a reckie before we start unloading the supplies” he says “let's go see what state it's in”.

On first appearance the place looks barren and unoccupied, they enter the compound through a set of gates, one of which is partially hanging off at an angle. They go from hut to hut, looking in at the dust filled interiors. The huts number about 20 by 30 arranged in a neat grid, they are in fairly close proximity to each other. There is also a separate toilet block and 3 larger rectangular huts at the centre. The perimeter fence looks inadequate and is broken or missing in several places and the site looks drab and perfunctory, Finn hopes he won't be posted out here for too long.

There are raised voices towards the back of the compound and Finn's group are immediately galvanised into action. They move quickly towards the commotion and when they pass a large hall and turn the corner, the scene ahead causes Finn to draw his lightsaber. A large group of heavily armed desert dwellers appear to be guarding about eight of the huts to the rear right hand side of the compound. They don't look too pleased to see their visitors. “Just put your weapons down, I'm sure we can sort this out amicably” Poe addresses them with his hands out in front of him in a calming down motion.

Finn's group joins them, there is a heavy air of weariness and mistrust. “Who's in charge here?” asks Finn. “We are Tuskens, and Gart is not going to be too happy to see you here" says one of the raiders "this is our turf so you'd better just turn around now and go find another place for your good deeds” he was waving a gun at them. Lando takes a slow step in an attempt to approach them but soon stops when he sees all weapons are now pointed at him.

“Perhaps this is their boss coming now” says Beaumont Kin (one of the resistance's smartest recruits), they all turn around and look behind them to see a small group of desert people headed by two darkly clad figures, one is at least a head taller than the rest of the company. As they get closer, recognition causes Finn's heart to sink as he realises this is the vision he saw in the cave of evil.

_Just before Rey killed him_

The dark clad figures are now unmistakably Kylo Ren and Rey, they are striding towards them purposefully. Rey is dressed in black tight trousers, black straps are wound tightly around her torso and a long black cloak hangs down her back nearly reaching the ground and flapping in the breeze. “How is Kylo Ren still alive and how did he get here?” asked Lando. “And what the hell is Rey wearing?” added Poe.

“I have a very bad feeling about this” said Rose. Finn remained silent in his own internal horror of the events unfolding in front of him. When they are a mere stone's throw from the now enclosed group of resistance fighters, Rey lifts her arm straight out in front of her – towards Finn! A look of deathly focus is etched on her face and her eyes are burning in a way Finn has never seen before. Then Finn feels his body being propelled through the air towards Rey's outstretched hand, he tries to resist with his own force power but is utterly powerless against her. His throat starts to constrict, just like the time he got caught spying on Rey at the waterfall.

Fear consumes him as he realises this could be his last few moments of existence, at the deadly hand of the girl of his dreams!

***

Rey has never felt so much hate for one person in her whole life and she is enjoying watching him squirm in the air. He's looking at her with a wild look of terror. She thinks of all his underhand deeds and then shudders with disgust at the memory of the accidental force connection, did he actually think she would want to sleep with him??? Her peripheral vision can just make out the frightened faces of all her resistance comrades and friends, only she cannot call them that now after they all lied to her and planned against her and Ben behind her back.

Gart is right, they must all die! She now trusts Gart with her life after all he has done for her – it feels as though she has always known him and she would gladly do anything to serve him with Ben at her side. She would be pleased to do anything that Gart wants ... anything at all.

“Put Finn down Rey, you don't know what you're doing” she hears Lando shout to her. “Kylo Ren is just using you, please don't do this” adds Poe. “Nooooo!” she hears Rose scream before a laser streaks across the side of her vision. Rey prepares to block it but it freezes in mid-air, Ben had put his hand up to stop it. She can feel Ben's hate rising in the shared power surging between them, it causes blue sparks to flash in the air. Ben uses an almighty force push to throw the rest of the resistance to the ground several feet behind them, knocking their weapons out of their hands.

“Why are you doing this?” Rose asks Rey in a desperately confused voice. “What has Finn ever done to you to deserve this?” Finn's eyes are now bloodshot and he is starting to pass out from the lack of air. This gives Rey a pang of pleasure that courses through her body “Oh, you want to know about your precious boyfriend do you? He's not the man you think he is Rose, you're better off without him” she says. “You don't mean that, it's just Kylo Ren poisoning your mind” Rose tells her earnestly.

_She actually thinks she can talk me out of this???_

“Don't you dare call him Kylo Ren, he isn't that person any more. Or, at least he wasn't when you went to Dagobah to kill him! He risked dying to save my life on Exegol after standing by my side to defeat Palpatine”. “But Finn told us ...” began Poe. Rey interrupted “Leia felt the change in him and brought him back from the brink of death.” she said “she sent him to Dagobah so he could train as a Jedi once more and harness his light power, she has always hoped that one day he would be able to help the Resistance.”

Rose interjected “But how were we to know any of this?”

“I could have told you all, if you'd just asked me instead of plotting and scheming behind my back, YOU TRIED TO MURDER HIM, CORNERED IN A CAVE AND UTTERLY DEFENSELESS AND NOW YOU WILL ALL PAY FOR YOUR TREACHERY!!!"

***

Ben hung on Rey's every word, he was completely in awe of her and knew he would stand by her side for the rest of eternity. Perhaps he had been right all along when he was Kylo Ren, you can't trust people not to walk all over you and ultimately hurt and weaken you. You have to cut away the weaknesses to realise your full potential. He walked up to Finn's levitating body and plucked the lightsaber from his immobilised hand. He lit the lightsaber and brandished it menacingly, surging with raw power and ready to take them all on.

Just at that moment he felt a strange sensation, it felt like he was being pulled up out of his body and floating in the air just above where they stood, everything seemed to have slowed down, all movement now barely perceptible and voices silenced. He was looking back down on himself standing next to his dark counterpart.

_They look incredible together!_

He wonders how and why this is happening, is it because he failed his test to remain good? Is he being dragged back into the world between worlds as punishment for his relapse? Then, in answer to his questions, he sees that he is accompanied by a faint apparition, the shape of which resembles his Uncle, Luke Skywalker! He is looking at Ben with love and concern.

“Ben, this is not you! Rey is caught in a spiral of hate and revenge and she cannot control the dark force, you of all people should know how that feels. If you don't stop this now, you will both be irretrievably consumed by the dark side and your souls slowly eaten away until you are empty husks filled with hate and menace.” Ben sensed the truth in these words and he didn't know what to say. Luke continued “I'm sorry I doubted you once but I know you can put a stop to this, your heart is good and you want Rey to be happy. These are her friends, she loves them and they only acted against you because they didn't know you'd changed. Look for yourself at the fear in their eyes, do you really want to be defined by fear and tyranny?”

Ben looks at the helpless resistance fighters holding their weapons and standing back to back, surrounded on both sides by armed raiders, then he studies Rey and he now sees the pain and hate in her eyes, she seems to be in a trance.

_These are not my scavenger’s loving eyes, there is no soul shining from within_

“Follow your heart Ben and do what you know is right” said Luke disappearing. Ben sinks back into his body, the lightsaber drops to the ground. He kneels down and touches the ground focussing on the remnants of light force that are still clinging to the edges of his being. He harnesses and builds it with thoughts of Rey, as she was on Exegol when she pulled up close to him and looked at his mouth before kissing him.

He breathes in deeply, feeling the balance tipping towards the light. Then, when he feels he could burst with light power he expels it. As it escapes, it pushes out the darkness and the energy that flows from him is now so intense it is clearly visible to the resistance fighters. When it encompasses Rey with it's brilliant glow, she immediately releases Finn causing him to drop unconscious to the ground. She looks around her as though she is waking up from a bad dream.

“Kill them” orders Gart from behind them but Ben is swift to pick the lightsaber up. He turns to face the raiders who are now charging towards them and skilfully swings Finn's lightsaber, felling them with ease. The resistance fighters watch in disbelief, then seeing a change in their circumstances they are filled with a new hope. They raise their weapons and charge at the guards that had encircled them from the rear of the compound.

***

Rey felt a rush of light blow through her like the aftershock of an exploding missile. She looked at Finn lying unconscious on the ground in horror.

_What had she done to her friend?_

In all the uproar, Rey saw Rose running towards Finn crying “Finn, don't die on me!”

_I must undo what I have done!_

Rey sat down next to Finn and reached towards him, Rose protectively intervened to stop Rey. Rey was struck by Rose's unwavering love for her friend “I want to help him” she told Rose, undoing Finn's jacket so she could place her hands on his body. After a few minutes he opened his eyes and took a deep wheezy breath clutching at his throat. He was looking up at Rey with fear and confusion.

“Oh Finn, thank goodness you're ok!” said Rose. “I'm so sorry Finn” said Rey “what I did was unforgivable”. “That's ok, I'm just really glad you're back again” he replied hoarsely. Then they all looked up at Ben who was fighting the rest of the raiders alongside the resistance. “I guess we should have listened to you before jumping to conclusions” Finn said.

“And I should have been brave enough to tell you about Ben” said Rey “I just didn't think you'd believe me and I didn't want to endanger him”.

***

The few remaining raiders had turned and run away, and now there was just Gart standing behind them “Well, if I can't have the compound then neither can you! This whole place is gonna blow and your two friends with it” he says pulling something out from his robes.

_It looks like a detonator switch!_

Before anyone can stop him he retreats behind a hut and a few seconds later there is an almighty blast from the huts they'd been guarding as they simultaneously explode. The instant the explosions begin, Ben pushes out a protective force wave to repel the fire and debris flying towards them, his reflexes are quick as lightening. He sees Rey put out both her hands to use the force to pull her friends away from the area and drops the force wave. They all lower themselves to avoid the full force of the blast.

Ben remembers Gart and pursues him in the direction that he fled, but can't see where he's gone. There are more blasts from different directions as the surrounding huts start to blow up, one by one. _The sick bastard must have rigged the whole place to blow, why would anyone do that???_ Ben walks between the huts towards the perimeter and sees a hole in the fence. After climbing through in pursuit, he looks around and catches sight of Gart's ample figure climbing into what looks like an old A-Wing, it is surrounded by tarpaulin covered mounds. “oh no you don't!” he thinks to himself.

The craft roars into life and starts to lift into the sky when Ben put his hands out towards it, his face set with deadly concentration as he pushes his arms down causing the A-Wing to plummet to the ground and explode. Satisfied with the result, Ben casually turns then rushes back to the compound to help the others.

***

Rey realises she had forgotten all about Chewbacca and BB8 while she was determined to get revenge. “How could I have been so blind?” she wondered. Gart must mean they are trapped in one of the huts that are now blowing up in swift succession.

_I must rescue them if I can!_

She tells Ben about Chewbacca and BB-8 through a brief mind connection then turns to her friends and shouts above the noise “I think Chewie and BB are in one of these huts, we need to find them before it's too late!” They all separate to search the huts for their trapped friends, selflessly oblivious to the danger they are putting themselves in. Rey runs towards the front of the compound and, just as she sees Ben running towards her, a hut explodes right next to her. She feels her body slam into an adjacent hut and everything goes black.

***

Ben runs to Rey and scoops her up in his arms taking her to the hole in the fence, he climbs through and gently places her down on the sand at a safe distance from the compound. He kisses her tenderly “I promise I'll come back” he says to the unconscious Rey and sprints back into the compound to help the others.

Ben heads towards the front of the compound calling to Chewbacca and soon hears a yowl from one of the huts “Chewie!!!” he shouts. Ben always loved Chewbacca as a child and couldn't bear the thought of his furry old friend being blown up. “They're over here!” he shouted loudly to the others “get yourselves out of here, I'll rescue them” Finn and Rose heard him and came to join him while the others fled though the fence and headed towards Rey.

“Follow me, I heard him over this way” he said to Finn and Rose. They heard another desperate yowl and managed to locate the hut. They entered and saw Chewie locked in a makeshift cage and BB8 looked like he'd been shut down, his head had been tossed into a corner of the hut. “Get the droid out of here” Ben told Rose “2187 and I will be right behind you with Chewbacca”.

Just then, one of the neighbouring huts exploded causing the ground to shake and a shower of dust and debris to fall from the roof. “Hurry Rose, I promise we will be out soon” said Finn. Rose didn't need any further convincing, she kissed Finn and rolled BB8 out of the door holding his head under her arm. “You'd better be!” she said as she disappeared towards the front entrance. Finn looked around for a key to the cage “we don't have time for that, I need you to pool your force with mine” said Ben and Finn looked at him in amazement. They both stood together and used the force to pull the bars apart, the bars creaked and groaned before giving in to the force power. They parted just enough for Chewbacca to climb out.

The three of them fled the hut and ran towards the front entrance which was just a few rows of huts away. There was now a carpet of debris scattered on the ground so they had to step carefully. The hut they'd just escaped from turned into a fireball behind them and the mighty blast propelled them forwards. They stumbled and ran through the entrance and continued to run across the sand to distance themselves from the compound before stopping to catch their breath.

They took a moment to look at each other and take in what had just happened. Chewbacca was staring intently at Ben before he swooped in to give Ben the biggest hug. Although he could feel his chest being compressed in Chewie's powerful arms, the hug felt so good to Ben! When Chewie finally released him, Finn shook Ben's hand encompassing the handshake with both hands and then patting Ben's hands “I had you all wrong, I'm so sorry I nearly killed you and by the way, you can call me Finn”. Rose walked up to Ben and said “I'm so pleased to finally meet you Ben, I know your mum really loved you and she always believed you would return”.

With a new sense of camaraderie, they headed towards the side of the compound where their friends had escaped. As they turned the corner of the compound Ben started to run, he was really worried about Rey. Surrounded by the resistance fighters, Rey was sitting up on the sand, holding her head. “Thank goodness you're ok” said Ben, she just looked at his lips and looked baffled. She can't hear me, he thought and embraced her, he didn't want to let go of her, it felt so good to be with the true Rey once again!

A few of the resistance fighters were looking across at the A-Wing's roaring inferno, which was sending up a thick plume of black smoke. "What happened to the asshole with the detonator?" asked Poe. Ben looked up from his embrace with Rey and smiled slyly "I guess being a low life was starting to get him down". They all laughed at this, looking at Ben with a mixture of warm acceptance and admiration for their new awesome new comrade.

“It's good to have you back Ben, but may I ask what it was that brought you back from the darkness?” asked Lando. “It was the love and faith that Leia, Han and Luke put in me but most of all it was my love for Rey” he said shooting Rey a look of adoration “When I was lost they guided me back to the light and I will never be able to repay them for that”. “Yes you will, standing with us and being Ben again is all they ever wanted” said Lando and then he put an arm around Ben's shoulders and touched his forehead to Ben's.

After checking that everyone had made it out from the compound, they decided to head back to Ajan Kloss and to find out if there were any contingency plans for the sith site. Ben put an arm around Rey's waist and she put an arm around his which made him feel so unbelievably good! Together they walked back to the Falcon with the others.

***

When they arrived at the Falcon, Rey could hear sounds again, albeit still rather muffled, as if she was holding cushions over her ears. BB-8 was being rolled up the ramp by Finn and Rey connected him up with some electrical leads and performed a boot “You missed quite an adventure!” she told him when he was back on line. After it had been refueled, Ben, Rey, BB8, Chewbacca, Finn and Rose took the Falcon back to Ajan Kloss, telling each other stories of past adventures and drinking daro root beers all the way back.

While the others were talking amongst themselves Rey quietly asked him “One thing has been bugging me Ben, how did you manage to force connect with me from Tatooine?” Ben replied “I figured I'd try the same method you used” he looked her with a wry smile. Rey's cheeks flushed with embarrassment and she looked away, not sure what to say in response.

Ben leaned in towards her and whispered “I have to say I love you in black, can you keep this outfit?” She elbowed him playfully, smiled then replied in a low voice "only if you promise to wear that blanket for me".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last but one chapter, the final chapter gets pretty steamy so those of you of a more prudish disposition can leave this story now with the warm fuzzy feeling of redemption, acceptance, comeradery and most importantly, love.
> 
> Please don't forget to leave kudos and comments if you have enjoyed my little tale.
> 
> For the rest of you smutsters, get ready to buckle up (or unbuckle 😉) for a very steamy bit of Reylo action!


	16. In Deep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben and Rey arrive on Ajan Kloss and go for swim - to freshen up of course!
> 
> This chapter is the climactic end to my first story of Bendemption.
> 
> Warning: seriously smutty!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok .. so as promised, this chapter is full of down and dirty reylo loving.
> 
> Scroll halfway down the chapter if you are only here for the smut 👌👌👌
> 
> This story is now being continued in my second installment titled Alliance of The Dyad.
> 
> As ever, I live for your kind kudos and comments x
> 
> Additional note: The song "Sweet Harmony" by The Beloved is where my head was when I wrote this chapter.  
> https://youtu.be/rP9Z5Pc8cRM

**Chapter 16: In Deep**

Rey steps down onto the landing area of Ajan Kloss with Ben at her side and is once again hit by the relentless wall of heat. The sun is low in the sky as evening draws in and Rey is thankful that the air will at least start to cool a little. They are about to walk out from under the landing nets in the direction of the base when they are approached by two of the cargo support crew. They look shocked and then wary to see Ben standng beside her and draw their weapons. “We thought Kylo Ren was dead, what is he doing here?” one of them asks Rey.

Before Rey can reply, Maz approaches them from the direction of the base, she enters the semi shade of the landing nets, and looks up at Rey "I heard you got back and I had to check you're all ok. Is Chewbacca with you?" she asks. 

Upon noticing Ben she removes her goggles and stares intently at him “You came back to us Ben, so Leia was right about you all along" she says beaming. She embraced him in a warm hug. A little surprised by this sudden show of affection, Ben reciprocated by putting an arm around her. After embracing for a minute or so, Ben pulled away looking somehow lighter and smiled down at her with a slightly puzzled expression before asking “How did you know that I'm Ben and not Kylo Ren?” “Oh, it's obvious to me, you have the eyes of a prince brimming full of hope and light force power. I also see that they are filled with love” as she says this, she blinks and looks towards Rey. Rey cannot stop an intense rush of blood colouring her cheeks.

“Leia ….” began Ben “-she got trapped in the world between worlds just so she could send me back” Rey's heart was wrenched to see Ben's face suddenly screw up with raw pent up emotions, she tries to comfort him by placing her hand on the small of his back and he moves a little closer to her. “I too feel your pain Ben, but you should never give up hope." said Maz, holding Ben's hands in her own "I have heard that there may be a way to get someone back from that place if you can harness the powerful forces which flow on Exegol”. The corners of Ben's mouth were turned down in sorrow and grief as he nodded. “Ok” was all he could manage to say. “I will let you get settled now Ben, it is wonderful to finally meet you". She smiled and blinked and then turned to leave.

Finn and Rose were nearby chatting with Poe who'd landed his X-Wing a few moments before the Falcon had set down. Rose turns to face them “We'd love it if you could come and eat with us, we still have so much to talk about”. Rey smiles at Ben before replying “That sounds great but I think we may just need to go and freshen up first, make sure you save us some Nuna legs”. “Ok, see you in a while” Rose says with a bright smile, turning back to her conversation.

Finn takes a moment to look across at Rey before studying Ben. He looked like he wanted to say something but then thought better of it, he quickly turned back and put an arm around Rose's waist before suspicions could be raised.

“It's hotter than Darth Maul's arsehole after a triple decker chili sandwich topped with extra chili sauce” Ben remarks, wiping his already sweaty brow. “I know and we're not exactly dressed for the tropics” she laughs, swishing her long cloak “... I do happen to know a great place for a swim and it's just a short walk from here”. Ben raises an eyebrow at her “A swim? Does this place also happen to have a shower, you know a shower of water from a great height, like, oh I don't know .. a waterfall?” Rey can't help grinning at him.

_He's on to me!_

“It's this way” she says taking his hand and leading him towards the cargo area. Most of the cargo personnel are either too busy to notice them or else are just looking at Ben in alarm and talking amongst themselves while pointing. C3P0 is carrying some supplies, he sees Rey and walks over to greet her “Good evening Miss Rey, it is lovely to see you got back safely, was your trip to Tatooine successful?” Rey replied “Yes … and no, the compound is now non-existant” "Oh, that's a shame. How did it ..." C3P0 stopped suddenly when he noticed Ben and became a little flustered “Hi Threepio, it's great to see you again after all these years” Ben said to put the droid at ease. “Oh, aaah and I'm pleased that you're back with us Master Ben Solo" he hesitantly puts out a metallic hand for Ben to shake.

“Could you do me a favour C3P0?” Rey asks him “Of course Miss Rey, what is your request?” he replies. “Can you make sure nobody else heads out this way until we get back?” she asks with an imploring smile. “Certainly Miss Rey, I was going to restock the spices in the food preparation area but I am sure that can wait” he says, setting the box down on top of a crate. “Thank you - sometimes I don't know what I'd do without you!”

With that, Rey takes Ben's hand and leads him towards the stream whereupon they enter the dense forest.

_I can't believe Ben is here with me and we're finally alone, heading towards the waterfall!_

His hand encompasses Rey's comparitively tiny hand as they walk together in silence, excitement and anticipation hanging in the air.

When they reach a knotted tangle of tree roots growing across the path, Ben scrambles over them first, then turns to Rey. As she jumps down onto the path he grabs her and pulls her close to him and presses his mouth to hers. His arms encircle her waist and his hands start to start to explore the curve of her buttocks. His tongue pushes inside her mouth and she feels her whole body go limp in complete surrender to his advances. Forcing herself to pull away from him so that she can lead him to the waterfall she tells him “It's not far now”, her voice thick with passion. She can taste him on her lips. His pace quickens until it is he who is pulling her along “It better not be, because I can't wait much longer!”

They walk a short distance further before arriving at the waterfall, they emerge from the dense trees into a water filled clearing. As they stand together at the water's edge, removing their footwear, he tells her “This place holds some very happy memories for me, thinking of you sitting just over there” pointing to the stone outcropping “stopped me from going insane on Dagobah”. She replied “While we're on that subject you may like to know it was the memory of seeing you barely covered by that blanket that helped me to force connect with you” he smiled broadly at the thought her of getting pleasure from the sight of him.

“How would you like to make some new memories?” asked Rey. “I thought you’d never ask” he replied, as he started to unwrap her bindings. He undressed her slowly, leaving her cloak on to frame her pale naked form whilst he gazed in awe upon her body. When Ben got to the last layer covering her breasts he slowly peeled back the black fabric and feasted his eyes hungrily upon the pale mounds of flesh beneath. His breathing became heavy as he lifted one of his huge hands to cup one of the soft mounds, his fingers rough on her sensitive skin but his touch so very gentle. When he knelt down and kissed her now extremely sensitive nipple, she was helpless to do anything other than gasp with pleasure as she ran her fingers through his thick black hair.

She felt the point of his tongue flicking over her right nipple whilst his rough fingers gently rolled and pinched the other. A quiet groan escaped her lips, causing a slight pang of embarrassment. He pulled down her trousers until they fell to the ground around her feet, then he slowly and teasingly ran a hand up the inside of her thighs whilst the other hand began caressing the base of her back. His nose and lips tickled as they brushed against her abdomen, hot breath and tongue causing her to giggle self-consciously. The hand between her legs had now reached the moistness at their summit.

 _What are you doing to me, you bad bad boy!!??_

Incapacitated with desire as she felt his fingers explore between her folds, she gripped his hair tightly and opened her mouth, eyes wide open and head tipped right back in ecstasy. Then a thick finger slowly slipped inside.

"Oh my **fucking** god!!!" She exclaimed hoarsely.

"Am I indeed?" He asked, looking up with a wicked glint in his eye.

He pulled out his finger and abruptly ceased his ministrations, standing so he could scoop her up into his powerful arms like driftwood. He looked down into her eyes for a moment, grinning playfully before he threw her into the water. She screamed out in surprise, just before she hit the water.

"You low down sneaky sleemo!!!” she yelled at him, spitting out a mouthful water.

Ben chuckled while he quickly took his own clothes off, Rey took the opportunity to feast her eyes on his formidable physique before he jumped in after her. The inky dark water protested at the entrance of his broad frame with a loud splash before he surfaced, pushing back his now sleekened dark mop of hair. The water gave his skin a shine as it reflected the fading light from his taut muscles.

He swam straight up to Rey who was standing with her feet planted apart on the waterbed. The water came up to her chest, causing her breasts to bob slightly in the ripples caused by his dive. He then stood up against her, pulling her so close she could feel his hardness press up against her belly. He leant down to kiss her neck, sucking and biting gently until her knees buckled. Her hands roamed over his biceps then traced their way down the front of his body until they connected with the part of him that most fascinated her. "Oh it wants you Rey, so badly" he whispered into her ear. He pushed it into her belly and gyrated himself against her causing her breasts to rhythmically brush against his upper stomach muscles.

“Can we go up there? I think I need to have you right now on that rock!” he asked pointing to the stone ledge. “Excellent idea” she sighed and swam gracefully towards the waterfall.

Rey took off the cloak that had been floating behind her in the water, hung it on a branch and climbed up onto the stone. She turned to see that Ben was right behind her pulling himself over the edge of the stone. He crawled towards her and she couldn't help but stare at his incredibly long, hard penis which was hanging down from a dark halo of hair. She laid back onto the stone and he leaned over her, his erection pushing into her hip as he reaches an arm over her. As he straddles her she can feel it brushing against her, hyper alert to it's slightest touch.

She has imagined him touching her many times ever since she first saw him in the interrogation room but she never thought it would feel this good or that she would ache with need for him like this! She could never have imagined how much the sight and touch of his erection would drive her wild with desire, her vagina was now oozing with anticipation. Totally fascinated by his collosal appendage she reached up to tentatively touch it and when she did, his whole body stiffened and his eyes closed for a moment. His mouth was closed as he let out a “mmmmnnn”.

As he lowers himself to kiss her, she feels his penis tilt downwards between her thighs and she opens her legs a little to allow it closer to where she knows it must go. His mouth is on now hers and his tongue is pushing into her mouth once more, his delicious breath about her face. His penis gently nudges against the entrance to her now very moist insides, it's head stretching her just a little causing her eyes to widen and look up at him with alarm.

_It's too big, it hurts!!!_

He must have sensed her distress because he paused and asked her “Shall I stop?” she shook her head at him and whispered into his ear "no, please don't". There was no way she could stop this now, she had to have him inside her, even if it hurt ... even if he splits her apart. She gripped him at the base of his back and guided him in, millimetre by millimetre, it hurt but it felt soooo good! She repeatedly bestowed delicate kisses about his face and lips as she pushed him in, so he knows how much she loves and wants him in this moment. As he inches further and further inside, it feels as if he's stretching her but this sensation is combined with a feeling of pure heaven. The further into her he goes, the more he is part of her!

***

“You know I can take whatever I want” he’d once told her, how he hated himself for saying that now. And what he had badly wanted in that moment, he knew Rey would never have willingly given to him, not like she was now. To touch her, taste her and push himself inside her.

_And now she is guiding my cock inside her!_

Ben had always thought the idea of physical love between a man and woman was ludicrous, a pointless diversion from the more important matters of complete domination and victory over his foes … up until he'd met Rey at least. Since then this is all he has dreamt about, but he never could have imagined it feeling this good!

His penis was now half way in as he withrew it and moved down to run his tongue back up her body. Starting just above her pubic hair, it followed the gentle curve of her stomach, dipping as it passed her belly button and then it continued up to her breasts. He stopped to suck on a nipple whilst flicking it with his tongue and while he did so his penis nudged against the inside of her smooth silky thighs. Bringing his tongue up towards her throat his super sensitive tip felt the gap between her thighs getting tighter and tighter until, nipping at her throat with his teeth, he nudged it in and was entering her once again. He really loves how this makes her tense up and gasp and this time he is slipping in with ease, lubricated by their copious juices. He eases himself in a little further than before whilst the smell of sex fuels his desire, he could drown in that sweet scent!

They are now staring into each others eyes as he pushes gradually further and further in until he is entirely inside her. Never has he felt so at one with another person. Neither of them are drawing breath, they are just frozen in mutual bliss. As he looks down upon her he takes in the sight of their joined bodies and studies the beauty of her naked body and flushed face. Then he pulls out a just little before shoving himself straight back in. Her eyes widen as she arches her back and moans loudly with pleasure.

_Oh my dear sweet scavenger!_

He continues to push himself in and out of her, each thrust sending wave upon wave of pleasure up through him. He was no longer in control of his body, he had to push harder and faster now. His forceful thrusts are causing Rey to writhe, pant and grip his body tighter.

***

A tsunami of pleasure now engulfs her as she lets out yet another unintentional moan. She indicates that she wants him to push even harder and deeper by wrapping her legs around him and pushing him in. Sweat drips freely from his brow, landing on Rey and mingling with the sweat that drenches her own body, a large droplet lands on her mouth and her tongue licks it in so she can enjoy his taste. From the sounds he is now making she guesses he is enjoying this increased ferocity every bit as much as she is.

The waves of pleasure start to lift her onto their crest, and are getting more and more powerful. They are so much more intense than when she had touched herself, how could she have known this much pleasure was even possible! She begins to reach the most intense climax she has ever experienced and is moaning and screaming with pleasure as he continues to push himself into her. The climax gradually eases and she melts into a state of complete bliss, she kisses his chest and runs her hands up his back in total love for him and his wonderfully powerful body.

***

Ben loves being able to give Rey so much pleasure and now he can feel his own body reaching the bittersweet point of climax. He fits inside her perfectly, like a hand in a glove … a very warm, velvety soft, moist glove and her hands running down his back serve to intensify his pleasure. He sucks on her neck as he drives himself in hard, his own pleasure waves turning him into a man possessed, no force in the galaxy can stop him now!

And then the best orgasm he'd ever experienced hit him hard, he kissed and lightly bit Rey's neck as he felt himself lifted to euphoria. Pleasure waves pulsed to continue his ecstasy just a little more as he felt his fluids shoot inside her. After pushing home his final spurt of ejaculate he collapsed in a state of absolute bliss next to Rey. Their bodies were entwined in a loose embrace as she kissed him tenderly and laid her hand on his heaving chest.

After they had laid this way for a while, bathed in starlight and breathing calmly once more, Ben said “Maybe we could bring Leia back if we return to Exegol, it will require a massive force push to enter the world between worlds". Rey smiled at him and replied "well we have both practised an effective method to increase our force connection power”. “Yes, I think that would be worth a try and we shouldn't waste too much time before we go back to SExegol' said Ben, causing them both to laugh at this delicious thought.

“I hope C3P0 wasn't in a rush to go anywhere because I don't think I'm done with you yet” said Ben caressing Rey's breasts and feeling himself stiffen again.

The end


End file.
